Sworn Protector
by skippidyskipskip
Summary: Quil and Claires lives had already been planned out.. In Quil's head. Claire's parents think a little differently. Find out what happens when Claire and her parents move away after Quil had known her for only two weeks. Even though they moved away, Quil swore to himself that he would still be her guardian, her protector.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys I'm really sorry about my other stories I know I haven't updated in forever. But anyway I am really excited about this story I have been thinking about it for a while and I am determined to finish it! This is a Quil and Claire story and if you have any questions about the first two entries please feel free to ask me. This first entry is the prologue if you are a little confused, but I am putting up the first chapter and the prologue at the same time. I am super excited about this story so please review and tell me what you think! –Sarah **

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_Prologue- Quil_

"Isn't she adorable?" I smiled while holding the little two year old in my arms. I tickled her pudgy stomach and she squealed and grabbed my hands with her small delicate ones.

"Yes, she's very adorable," Jacob rolled his eyes, "You haven't said that a billion times or anything." We were sitting at Sam's house watching TV. I was taking care of little Claire while her Aunt Emily was at the store. If her parents knew that, they might not be very happy about it.

"How do you think her parents would feel if they knew a sixteen year old was obsessed with their daughter?" Jacob asked and my stomach dropped. That has been all I have been thinking about for the past two weeks that I have known Claire. Her parents wouldn't understand at all. Claire is my world, my only thoughts and not even in the creepy way. I feel like her big brother, her protector. I promised myself that no harm would come to Claire; I would die before that happened.

Everything about her was perfect. Her tiny lips were pink and pouty and she had giant royal blue eyes. But the cool thing about her eyes, in the middle of all the royal blue, was a circle of dark brown around her pupil. She had long lashes and a head of dark brown curly hair. Unlike most of the Makah around here, she was a light olive color because of her father. She had a button nose and a smile that could make the coldest of people warm. She loved everything about the world. She's the little girl that would wear dresses and play in the mud. In fact, that was her absolute favorite thing to do.

Emily is Claire's aunt. I first saw Claire whenever she came to visit Emily with her mother Erica and her older brother Frankie. Now Emily always has Claire over. Claire's mother thinks it's because Emily wants to spend a lot of time with Claire, which is partially true, but she also wants me and Claire to spend time together so I don't drive the pack nuts worrying about her.

It was 3:45 and I heard Emily's car pull up. I looked at Jacob sadly knowing that I only had about an hour left with Claire. Emily and the rest of the pack burst into the house with a loud chatter and I stood up holding Claire tightly. Sam, Emily, Leah, Seth, Brady, Embry, Jared, and Paul all had a stern look on their face as they were arguing about something.

"It's not right, why don't you tell her parents that she can stay with you guys?!" Embry argued.

"Because she needs to grow up with her family, not like this," Sam said, "If her family wants to move, then she must move with them."

"Who's moving?" I asked confused and they all looked at me shocked. My guess is that Renesmee's moving since the Cullens have been talking about moving to Alaska, but I thought they were going to stay since Jacob imprinted on her. Sam looked at me with the saddest expression and my stomach dropped, no it can't be.

"Claire is," He said, "Her parents are moving to Nashville, Tennessee tomorrow and today is the last time you will see her."

Time stopped for me. I looked around and saw how sad the pack looked. I could hardly imagine how my expression is right now. My heart feels like it's shattering into a million pieces. She's moving?! I can't move with her, I have to finish school and stay with the pack.

"Why?" was all I could manage to choke out before I sat on the couch hugging Claire while holding back tears. She was my everything, she can't be moving.

"Her parents have been planning this for around a month now, Emily just now told me," Sam admitted. I looked at Emily and her face was covered with guilt.

"Quil," she began, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but honestly I didn't think you would imprint on her. Her parents already have a house in Brentwood and Claire is their world. We can't separate her from her parents."

"But she's my world," I protested, no longer holding back the tears, "She's my imprint, I can't live without her!"

"You will see her when they come to visit," Emily said, "You'll just have to be patient."

"Who's going to protect her? There are so many dangers out there." I handed Claire to Emily and I was now pacing around the room. I was sick to my stomach and I couldn't think clearly. This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Alice is doing us a kind favor and she will be watching Claire for us, but as long as she doesn't know, she won't have anything to fear except for what a _normal_ child fears. This will be good for her. Maybe she doesn't need to grow up being terrified that one day she could be attacked by a vampire or you could be killed by one. Just think positive about this. This will be good for Claire."

"I'm still going to protect her," I said sternly, "I have to protect her."

The next day I said my goodbyes to Claire and she looked so sad. She could say some words but for the first time she said a complete sentence, "I wuv you Qwuil, my Qwuil."

My heart shattered even more than it already had as I watched Emily drive away with her for the last time.

I didn't know that Claire's parents weren't planning on coming back, that Emily and Sam were going to go visit them. If I had, then maybe things would turn out differently. I did know one thing. I would always be there to make sure nothing would happen to her.

I would be her protector.

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**Alright so the first chapter should be up shortly! Please review and let me know what you think! Quil won't be around for a while because this is going to be focused on Claire but he will come back! I promise!**

**-Sarah**


	2. Chapter 1: Someone is following me

**Alright here is chapter one! I might have chapter two up by tonight but it might be a couple of days until then but I will try very hard!**

**-Sarah**

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_14 years later_

"Claire, wake up!" my brother yelled and I groaned as I tried to open my eyes that were pasted shut because I forgot to take off my make up last night. My stomached turned and I ran to the bathroom and puked my guts out into the porcelain toilet. I flushed it down and leaned back against the wall trying to ignore my hangover.

"Rough night last night?" Frankie laughed and tossed me my lavender, silk bathrobe. I flipped him the bird and he came in and turned on the shower for me. Steam filled up the room and it helped my headache a little bit and I shut my eyes breathing it in. Frankie left the room and I was by myself. It was a Friday and I was not ready to go to school. I had snuck out last night with my friends like I do every Thursday night. I've never been caught and my parents think I'm the good child. Ha. They are very mistaken. I jumped in the shower and let the pellets of water relax my shoulders. This was my favorite part about the morning. No one could bother me and I could just relax. Soon I was out of the shower and in my room sorting my clothes for the day, even though I wore the same thing every day.

I go to an all girls school. We have to wear uniforms, and not just the polo and kaki pants, but the oxford shirts, blazers, plaid skirt, and knee socks. Today I threw on a white oxford shirt with a black blazer and a electric blue and black plaid skirt. Luckily the skirt length didn't matter because it was an all girls school so let's just say that my skirt was very short and revealing. My blazer had an electric blue crest on the breast. The crest had a wolf on it, which was also my favorite animal. Being in an all girls school wasn't that bad especially since the guys here in Brentwood were very attracted to school girls. But none of them could get me. I may party and have fun, but I am just not attracted to the guys down here. Yes they are drop dead gorgeous, but I don't have any feelings for them at all. I guess that's why they are even more attracted to me.

My room was huge compared to some of my friends in Franklin's rooms. I did live in Brentwood though. The ceilings were tall and the walls were painted a light purple and there were shimmery lights hanging down. I had a princess bed and two white leather couches and a 64 inch flat screen TV. I had a huge walk in closet and my own bathroom which was painted a light pink. I really had my own princess room. My friends called my house the Bennet Castle because of how massive it was. I went into my bathroom to do my hair and put on some makeup. I did a cat eye look with silvery makeup and I applied light pink lip gloss to my lips along with a sparkly powder to my face. My hair was easy to do for all I had to do was comb it and let it dry into perfect ringlets. I completed my look with a silver sparkly headband and I walked down to my kitchen to see if the maid had fixed anything for us for breakfast.

My family is very rich. My father is a neurosurgeon and my mother is a fashion designer and has her own magazine. I am not a snobby rich kid though. My parents would disown me if I was. I am thankful for what I have because my mother grew up very poor in some town in Washington and she promised me that we would never have to live like she did. I have my own job even though some people would not call it an actual job. I model and I am also an actress. I pay for everything and my parents refuse to spoil me and Frankie. I paid for my own car, cell phone, clothes. The only thing my parents pay for is my tuition for school. I'm not allowed to go anywhere unless I have good grades. My parents are strict but it's only for our own good. I've lived here since I was two and even though I fit in very well, I feel like this isn't who I'm supposed to be.

"Good morning Claire, do you want me to fix you breakfast?" our maid, Marie asked with a smile. She was not only our maid, but she was also my nanny while I was growing up. I love Marie to death; she is like a second mother to me.

"No, thank you," I smiled back and grabbed a glass of orange juice and a granola bar, "I'm running a little late." That was a lie but for some reason I wanted to get to school early. It's probably this fall weather. I love the campus in the fall. I grabbed the keys to my car and walked out of the house. It was foggy outside and the perfect temperature. I unlocked my carrera gt Porsche and hopped in turning up my radio to country music. I drove down the twisty driveway and headed to school. It was only six thirty and school started at seven forty, but I really wanted to get there early today.

I parked in my parking spot, which was the closest to the massive school. I earned the spot and it was mine and I got out grabbing my black sparkly back pack with silver polka dots that's from Victoria's Secret and walked to the front of the school. But I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around a little freaked out and tried to see through the fog. I didn't see anyone so I started to walk a little quicker into school. Fuck this shit. I am not going to be that girl that is dumb enough to try and figure out if somebody's there. Those girls _always _die. I refuse to be that girl. I sat on the stone ledge as I did every day and looked out at the huge lake behind the school. I've never swam in the lake; it wasn't allowed because why swim in a lake when there's a great swimming pool inside the school?

The hair started rising on the back of my neck as I realized that someone was following me. I looked behind me again and I saw a figure through the fog that quickly hid behind one of the columns. I wasn't scared though. This has been happening since I can remember. I have always felt like someone has been watching me but I never knew who. Of course I never told anyone because they would think that I was crazy, but I always felt like this person following me actually cared about me and that they were there to protect me or something. I think I just think that way so I'm not so afraid.

I got out my iphone and put on my headphones and started listening to Debussy to relax myself. Before I knew it, it was 7:15 and someone tapped on my shoulder making me jump out of my skin.

"Jesus!" I shouted and turned around only to see my very best friend Effy. She lived with her Aunt because her parents had died and she was drop dead gorgeous. She had a round face and beautiful caramel eyes and a button nose. She has small red lips and dark red hair that is in fact natural. It's straight and has a choppy layered cut with side bangs. She has rosey cheeks and she is very pale, but she is still gorgeous and just about the sweetest person that I know. We've been best friends since freshman year. We're the same height, 5 feet, and we have so much in common. We both are in cheerleading together, we have the same favorite color, and we are in all of the same classes. Like me, Effy hasn't really found a guy that she's had feelings for yet.

"Sorry!" She apologized and backed up, "I forgot I always tend to sneak up on you, do you smell that?"

I sniffed the air and raised my eyebrows, "Uh, no?"

"It smells like wet dog, gross!" She said, "Come on, let's go inside." She grabbed my hand and I complained because her hands are always cold. The difference between me and Effy is that Effy cuts class, a lot. And yet she manages to keep her grades at straight A's. She says its cause she has to take care of her aunt who is very sick and so she does a lot of her studies at home.

"So I just thought I would remind you that your birthday is tomorrow!" She squealed and I rolled my eyes. Effy always got overly excited about my birthday. I was turning seventeen, big deal.

"Yay," I said sarcastically. She gave me a playful angry look and started going through my party plans.

"Pretty much everyone who is anyone is going to your party. It's going to be huge and so exciting. I am super excited about the masquerade though. I mean come on no one can get in unless they're wearing a mask? Genius! Maybe you'll find the love of your life at this party." Effy winked at me and I continued to roll my eyes at her. My mom designed both of our dresses so no one will have the same dress as us, or masks. We are also celebrating Effy's birthday because hers is the day after mine. October 13. I acted like I wasn't excited about my party, but honestly I was. I always make sure I please people before they please me and I guess that's why a lot of people like to be around me; I tell them what they want to hear. Tomorrow will be my day. I want to feel loved for once. Although people always tell me that they love me, I never feel like it's genuine. Effy is my only true friend. She's the only person that I tell everything and same with her to me.

The rest of the day I was only thinking about my party. What I was going to wear. How I was going to do my hair. What drinks I was having. How my cake would end up. What was going to be in the gift bags for people who came. What band was going to come. Everything that I could possibly think about. Today flew by and when the bell rang Effy and I rushed to our cars.

Effy had the number two parking spot and she drove a canary yellow Lamborghini. We were driving to my house to make final arrangements for the party.

When we got to my house no one was home except for Frankie. He had my mother's looks. He was very tan with dark brown eyes and straight black hair. He definitely had Indian blood in him where you couldn't really tell with me. I'm pretty sure that he and Effy have always had a thing but he would never admit it because well she is in fact my best friend.

"Hey Effy," he smirked and gazed at her when she walked in. She just smiled at him and we headed up to my room.

We were sitting on my couch and I decided to tell Effy about the person that I have always felt like was following me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees.

"Ef," I said, "Have you ever felt like someone was following you?" She looked at me with a look that she has never given me before. I have never seen her so serious in her life.

"Why do you ask Claire? That's a very serious thing to say," She said sternly and I could have sworn her eyes got darker.

"I have always felt like someone was following me and I never said anything because I thought that people would think that I was crazy," I admitted. Effy stood up and started pacing.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?!"

"I-I don't know?" I stuttered, "I thought it was just my imagination until I saw him at school today. Well, I didn't really see him I just saw a silhouette of a man."

"You should have told me before," Effy said angrily, I don't think I have ever seen her mad before, "I'm staying over tonight."

I tried to ignore what had just happened and I tried changing the subject to my party. Eventually I was able to get Effy into a better mood until she looked out of my window and froze.

"Claire," she whispered.

"Yeah?" I managed to say while my mouth was stuffed with a meatball marinara.

"Someone is following you."

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**And that is the end of chapter 1! I hope you liked it! Please review and tell me about your opinion of it so far! -Sarah**


	3. Chapter 2: Mystery Man

**I am actually extremely excited about this chapter, but this is the last one tonight. I will have chapter 3 up tomorrow morning!**

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_The world was grey and rainy. I was standing on a beach and the water was running against my feet. I was wearing a blue dress and it was flapping in the wind. My hair kept blowing in my face. _

_"Claire!" Someone yelled my name and I turned around and saw the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. He ran towards me and picked me up into a huge hug. He then threw me over his shoulder and ran into the water. I laughed and started fake punching his back. Then we were both in the water together and I had the feeling of being so in love. I wrapped my legs around his hips and grabbed his face and gave him the most powerful kiss in the world. My chest exploded with love but then something pulled me under and I was drowning. My mouth filled with water and I tried to swim to the top. I was dragged further and further down until it was just dark. My chest exploded in pain and I tried to scream._

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"Claire! Wake up you're having a nightmare!" I sat straight up my body was covered in sweat and I gasped looking around. Effy sat next to me and looked worried.

"I- I was drowning," I said in between breaths, "I recognized the place that I was at but I couldn't quite put my finger on it."

"Describe it and maybe I could find it for you," Effy got out her laptop and started looking online as I described the place in my dream.

"You said you're mom is in an Indian tribe right?" Effy asked while handing me her computer. On the screen was a page where at the top said La Push.

"My mom's from the Makah tribe, but I think my Uncle Sam is from there," I said surprised that I dreamed about that, "I haven't been there since I was two." Effy had the strangest look on her face as if she recognized the place.

"Would you want to take a trip to somewhere around there?" Effy asked as she pulled out her iphone and started typing furiously. "I have family that lives in Forks, Washington and I had been meaning to visit them."

"Uh, I guess," I replied raising my eyebrow. I thought Effy's only family was her aunt who had been very sick.

"Great!" She exclaimed, hopping up and pulling me along with her. We started getting ready for our birthday party. My hair was down to just above my butt and I kept it naturally curly and it had small diamond pins placed carefully all over my hair. To top off my hair I wore a diamond tiara on my head.

Effy's hair was twisted into a bun and she had white feathers sticking out the top. I wore a fitted dress that was strapless and silver at the top and it faded to a lavender color. There was a slit up to my thigh and of course the dress was covered in sparkles. I wore tall silver heals and a diamond necklace and earrings. Effy's dress was blue and had a tight bodice with a frilly bottom and she also had a slit up to her thigh. The back of her dress was laced. She looked beautiful. We then had elegant masks, mine was silver with diamonds and Effy's was white with lace. We were drop dead gorgeous.

It was time for the party and Effy and I walked out of my room together and there was a sea of people downstairs. They cheered when they saw us and I had a huge smile on my face. We linked our arms together as we walked down the stairs together. People cleared the way for us as we headed outside. There were trinkling lights outside and even though it was October, my pool was open and the lights were changing from pink to purple.

"And who would like to dance with Effy!?" My mom's voice sounded through the speakers and my smile got bigger. We wouldn't even know who we were dancing with because of the masks. All of a sudden, a familiar figure that looked a lot like my brother pulled Effy into his arms and they glided across the dance floor as a spotlight was on them. They looked so happy; if only they would admit that they have a thing for each other. They are both too stubborn.

"And who would like to dance with the birthday girl Claire?!" I waved and twirled and a strong hot hand grabbed mine. He was very tan, tall, and very muscular. He was so warm and I looked up at him and he had the prettiest brown eyes with flecks of green and caramel in them. I got immediate butterflies. His touch was giving me goose bumps. Who was this mystery man? He smelled wonderful, like cinnamon and pine. It reminded me of Christmas. I just wanted to be closer to him. Seriously who is this guy?!

"You look beautiful, Claire," He whispered and my heart just about beat right out of my chest.

"Th-Thank you," I choked out. I have never been like this with anyone. I have always been the one to make guys nervous. Guys don't make me nervous! We danced to Clair de Lune and this man behind the mask was the only one I could see in the room. This is the man from my dream! I realized and I had to keep my mouth from dropping. How is this possible?! Sooner than I wanted, the song was over and the mystery man gave me a kiss on my cheek and then whispered in my ear, "Happy birthday, beautiful."

Before I knew it, he was gone and I was standing in the middle of the dance floor in awe. Effy came up to me and crinkled her nose.

"Ew you smell like wet dog!" She repulsed and sprayed Calvin Klein one shock for girls on me.

"I thought he smelled amazing," I sighed smiling. I was numb and the place where he kissed my cheek tingled. I felt it and I was still in a daze.

"Hello, Claire?" Effy snapped her fingers and looked at me, "Snap out of it."

I looked at her and smiled, "Who was that?" She shrugged and we went back to dancing with everyone. Drinks were being set out and we named them after ourselves. Some of the names were Queen Bitch, Princess Ef, Claire Bear attack, and Effing Up. By the end of the night I was drunk and grinding on guys not caring about their erection digging into my backside. They won't be getting any and they know it. Effy was grinding between two guys, letting them kiss her neck.

By the end of the night Effy and I had our shoes off and we were letting guys do body shots. We were fucking wasted. I was cheesing and I saw my mystery man standing across the yard. I smiled and walked over to him drunkenly.

"You mystery man," I slurred, "Are very fucking sexy." I started laughing and the mystery man didn't smile. I wrapped my arms around him and he stood frozen.

"Aren't you attracted to me?" I asked in a whiney voice. He had to be. Everyone was attracted to me. He didn't say anything and I tried to pull myself up to his face to kiss him.

"Claire, no," He said sternly and pushed me away. If I was sober I would have just been pushed away but my drunken self fell over. Hurt, I started crying and tried to get up, but I couldn't. The world was sideways and the mystery man came over to me apologizing.

"Claire, I'm sorry, let me take you to your room, you're drunk," he tried pulling me up, but I pulled my arm away.

"Go away!" I yelled and tried to stand again, but my stomach turned and I puked in the grass. He held back my hair and waited for me to finish. I wiped my mouth, and still crying I tried to get up again, but couldn't.

Mystery man picked me up and cradled me. He walked me up to my room and I clung to his chest. He laid me in my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin.

"Who are you?" I gurgled. Still drunk and half asleep.

"You'll find out soon enough," He kissed my forehead and my eyes fluttered close. While I was still conscious I heard voices talking.

"What are you doing here dog?!"

"More like what are you doing here Leach!"

"Stay away from Claire, she's happy and doesn't need you."

"You know I can't do that."

"Well I'm her best friend so get the fuck out or I'll make you."

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The lights in my room turned up and I covered my face with my blanket. My head was pounding.

"Claire bear," My mom's voice whispered, "You have to be at the shoot in an hour, I suggest you get ready." I heard my door close and I sat up wiping my eyes. I had a hangover but I didn't have to puke. Thank god. I barely remembered last night, but one thing I did remember was the mystery man. I walked up to my vanity that had a note attached to it. In a messy writing wrote.

_Sweet Dreams beautiful Claire Bear._

_-QA_

QA? Who is that? It must have been mystery man. I blushed at the way I acted yesterday, but I couldn't deny that last night was amazing. I walked out of my room and I heard a giggling. Effy walked out of my brother's room wearing his button up shirt. I raised an eyebrow at her and she shook her head.

"We didn't do anything I was just drunk and slept in his room and woke up at like five in the morning and put on his shirt," she laughed again, "I'm not like that."

I rolled my eyes and went downstairs and fixed myself bacon and coffee. I need to get over this hangover. Eff followed me and we were sitting at the kitchen table and I looked at her furrowing my eyebrows together.

"Eff," I began, "Do you know who the guy I danced with was?" She shrugged.

"Nope, I bet it was Michael Summers," she lied. I could always tell when she lied.

"Do you know who Q.A. is?" I asked letting her know that I knew that she lied.

"No," She said angrily, "So why don't you drop it?"

I went upstairs and took a shower. I then put on my silk bathrobe and grabbed my keys and headed to the photo shoot that was in Franklin.

On the drive there, there was only one thing on my mind. Who was this guy? Maybe he was from La Push just like where my dream was. I had to find him. I knew one thing though, I was in love with this guy and I hadn't even met him.

He was mine, I just knew it, I had a natural pull toward him and he was all I could think about.

My mystery man.

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**Soooooo who do you think mystery man is? Haha I am not giving you a hint. Please please please review it would mean so much to me! -Sarah**


	4. Chapter 3: Wanted and Unwanted Visitors

**Hello! So I just wanted to see if you guys had any questions about Claire's character. If you want any details about her I would be glad to tell you! And I want to see if you can figure out who Effy is also.. It might take a couple of chapters before I review who she really is. Please review when you're done reading I want to see what your opinions are and if you have any thoughts on what I should include you should totally tell me and I might just include them! Thanks! –Sarah**

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The next week, Effy and I were sitting on the floor in my room trying to figure out what to do. Effy was rummaging through old pictures of me laughing at how much of a girly girl I was and how I was one of the boys at the same time. I had a lot of guy friends, but they all have feelings for me so I always have to make sure that I'm not alone with any of them so they don't try anything on me and then ruin our friendship and then make things awkward.

"Let's have Michael Summers over!" Effy squealed, wiggling her eyebrows. She has always wanted me to be with Michael Summers because she thought that he was perfect for me. Tall, blonde, a country boy, and he was strong so he could protect me no matter what. I didn't need protection though. I was strong for my age because I had been in gymnastics, cheerleading, volleyball, and track. I was very in shape and I took kick boxing classes every summer. I didn't want a boy who babied me all the time thinking I was extremely fragile and not letting me do anything. I wanted a boy who would do stupid things with me like riding dirt bikes or bungee jumping. Not someone who wanted me home safe all the time and not letting me join all of the fun. I hate feeling like I'm trapped and feeling like I have no freedom at all. That's why I hate it when people tell me what to do; I like being in control. I guess that's also why I'm claustrophobic. I need room to breathe and I need to be free.

"If we have Michael Summers over, then we're having multiple guys over," I laughed and threw popcorn at her.

"I know!" She hopped up excitedly, "We can go rock climbing with a group of people."

Effy knew me so well; I absolutely love rock climbing. It made me feel strong. I started texting my friends off of my phone telling them to meet me and Effy at the rock climbing place and before we knew it Effy and I were in matching yoga pants with our matching hoodies from Pink. Mine was a bright pink while hers was sky blue. It was the perfect rock climbing outfit. I pulled my straightened hair into a tight, long ponytail and put a thin, light pink sweatband in my hair.

We hopped down the stairs and just about ran into Frankie in the kitchen.

"Oh hey," Frankie said nervously trying to look at me but his eyes kept drifting to Effy. He was crazy about her and I know she was crazy for him, but they were just too stubborn to admit it. I honestly didn't mind; hell if they got married then Effy and I would be sisters. That would be amazing!

"Hey Frankie," I said, "You wanna go rock climbing with us?"

"Sure!" he said excitedly and then he looked at Effy and then stuttered, "I-I mean unless you don't want me to." Frankie was always different around Effy. Normally, he was a country boy who wasn't afraid of anything and he was tough and didn't let people get to him, but with Eff, he was nervous and stuttery, it was quite hilarious for me.

"That'd be great, we'll see you there," Eff winked and we walked out the door.

It was raining again, but I didn't care. I honestly loved everything about the rain. I loved the smell and the idea of dancing and kissing in the rain. Effy always seemed in a better mood when it rained, also. We made it to downtown, Nashville in no time and five of my closest guy friends were there. Dylan, Braydon, Michael, Jordan, and Kyle were all already climbing and Michael just about fell when he saw me walk in. I used to have feelings for Michael but they weren't strong enough and something was always missing when I was with him. He was just like a brother to me.

Rock climbing ended and all the guys wanted to go to Noshville for dinner.

"Sorry guys," I apologized, "I have family that should be at my house any minute and I haven't seen them in three years."

Effy squealed in excitement. She had only met my dad's side of the family, but she hasn't met my mom's. They're from La Push and they are the most welcoming people that I have ever met. They adore me, but they always seem worried right when I open the door.

My aunt, Emily, was gorgeous. Some people didn't think so because of the rigid scar that she has on her face from the bear attack, but for me her face was filled with kindness and happiness. She was the happiest person I have ever met.

My uncle, Sam, was a big guy, not fat, but muscular and strong. He always had a stern expression on his face except for when he laid eyes on Aunt Emily. They were so in love it was crazy. I don't even think that they've been in a fight before. They were truly soul mates and I was jealous of their love. Uncle Sam always worried about me and he was protective of who I would hang out with. Hopefully he will love Eff because I don't know what I would do if he didn't. Well, honestly I didn't care. I knew Effy better than I knew any of them.

My little cousin, Robbie, was fifteen. The last time I saw him, he was short, scrawny, and immature. He liked to piss me off and I thought he was a little brat. I still loved him to death though so I was super excited to see him.

My other little cousin, Reighn, was also fifteen; Robbie's twin sister. She was the cutest kid. She had straight, black hair and tanned skin. She always had a smile on her face and she looked up to me. She still texts me all the time to see how I'm doing. She's so adorable and I love having a little cousin that looks up to me. She has chocolate eyes and she is a stick and very short. Well, at least she was last time I saw her. I had been looking forward to them coming over to visit for weeks now.

Effy and I headed home and as soon as we got settled up in my room, my doorbell rand and we both sprinted back down the stairs. I opened the door quickly and out of breath and squealed when I saw my family sitting in front of me. When I laid my eyes onto Robbie though, my mouth dropped. He. Was. Huge. And when I mean huge, I mean _huge._ He was at least 6'4" and he was ripped. His hair wasn't shaggy anymore, it was cropped short and he had a strong jawline. I guess he was no longer my little cousin anymore.

I ran up and gave him a hug and he picked me up in a tight bear hug.

"Robbie," I squeaked, "I can't breathe."

"Oh," he laughed and dropped me, "I guess I don't know my own strength." I smiled at him and looked at Reighn. Lord she was beautiful. She was around 5'11' and she was tan and curvy. Her sleek, black hair reached her butt and she had long, model legs that I was very jealous of. Not to mention she was tiny and had huge boobs that looked perfect. Geez these Indians are only fifteen and they look like adults.

I gave Aunt Em and Uncle Sam a hug and introduced them to Effy. Robbie and Sam exchanged glances, they're eyebrows were furrowed while Aunt Emily and Reighn's eyes were wide.

"I'm so happy to meet you!" Effy squealed and gave each of them a hug. Robbie stiffened when she reached him, but relaxed a little after Uncle Sam nodded at him. Effy scrunched her nose a little bit, but then she still had her cheerful Effy face.

We ate dinner together and Frankie kept commenting on how huge Robbie was.

"Man what's your secret?" he gushed, "I go to the gym all the time and there's no way I can get that ripped."

"Well, we do a lot of running and hunting in La Push, so I guess that helps," Robbie said casually. He and Uncle Sam exchanged knowing glances again, but I chose to ignore it.

By the end of the night we were all laughing and playing games while my mother and Emily caught up. Effy and Reighn got along very well and I felt a slight weight lift from my shoulders when I realized that. Reighn was the one that I was hoping would like Effy. They were so much alike and I really hoped that they would get along.

Effy went home and my aunt, uncle, and cousins stayed at a hotel. I decided to go out on a run early in the morning. The fog was out and I was wearing my favorite Juicy sweat suit. On the run, I felt like someone was following, but it wasn't the same presence as normal. This one felt evil. I decided to cut the run short and headed home.

Something was wrong. My front door was wide open, but the alarms weren't blaring. I crept inside and the hair on the back of my neck rose. I walked into my kitchen and gasped. Marie was on the floor dead. She looked like she had her neck eaten. I covered my mouth and ran up to my parents' bedroom. The sheets were soaked in crimson blood and my father was lying there dead. I ran to the hiding spot in my house and my mother was hiding there also, weeping.

"Mom," I whispered, "Where's Frankie?"

"Out with friends," she whispered back, "I sent him a text telling him to go to the hotel to get Sam and Robbie, to tell them to get help."

Footsteps were heard in the hall in front of us. We were hiding in an air vent and I saw black stilettoes. There was a wicked laugh and then the girl ripped open the vent.

"Run!" my mother shrieked just as the girl grabbed my mother and snapped her neck. I screamed and looked her straight in the eyes. They were bright red! She had white blonde hair and pale skin, but she was drop dead gorgeous and very tall. She started heading towards me when Effy ran up and pushed her, more like threw her across the room.

Effy turned and looked at me with a worried face, "Go!" I ran and jumped into a fire escape and just as I thought that I was away, something slammed into the back of my head. Everything went black.

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**Alright so that is the end of Chapter 3! I hope you liked it. It's about to get really intense and I will try to have chapter 4 uploaded by the end of the night but I don't think I will. Please review and tell me your thoughts, it means a lot to me! -Sarah**


	5. Chapter 4: I will find you

**Ello loves! I would just like to tell you guys that this chapter is going to be all about Quil… Or mostly. I haven't decided yet because I haven't written it yet haha. Anyway I'm sorry about the cliff hanger, but I am going to have to have you guys strive for a little bit longer. Once we do get back to Claire, it's going to get very sad.. I'm sorry but I promise it gets better! Anyway, please read and review; it would mean the world to me! Alright I'll let you go now ;)**

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_Quil_

My Claire bear was all grown up, how could this be? Honestly, she's not who I imagined her to be, but she was perfect at the same time. Hell, I don't even really know the girl, but I know I have to be there for her. I have to protect her from the dangers of the world. I knew Effy would protect her though. She loves Claire. Not as much as I do of course, but enough to still watch over her. I was sort of mad at Effy though, for she had gotten Claire into bad habits such as drinking and smoking weed. Luckily she didn't get her into any addicting substances. Nashville's a party city and I knew that Effy would have had to make Claire fit in or else who knows what would happen to her.

Claire tried to kiss me. But of course it wasn't real because she was completely wasted. I wanted her to love me like I loved her, but I honestly don't know how I love her. Do I find her attractive? Yes, she's drop dead gorgeous. Do I want to do things with her? I don't know, we barely know each other. Do I want to protect her? Yes. I knew that the love I have for her right now is only the imprint talking, but oh do I miss her. She still is all I think about and I can't go a single day without thinking about her.

I was lying in bed thinking about everything that has happened. I feel so empty. I need Claire so badly, but I can't leave the pack. Not with the random vampire attacks lately. I hopped out of bed, ran out of my house and phased. I soon heard a swarm of thoughts floating around my head.

"_Aye Quil! What's up?!" Embry thought and I rolled my eyes._

"_Trying to see if Robbie is in wolf mode right now to see what Claire looks like." A picture of Claire in her dress with the mask on her face floated across my mind and I shook my head._

"_No, I saw her a few weeks ago, but that's not what I meant," I said, "I wanted to see what she looks like when she's happy and sober and just being natural." Suddenly my thoughts filled with Effy. Someone hated her._

"_Robbie?" I asked and waited for him to respond._

"_Quil! Who the fuck is this Effy chick?!" _

"_She's a friend of the tribe and the Cullens, she's been watching Claire for a few years now so nothing happens to her."_

"_Well, Claire's happy," Robbie admitted, "really happy, like her life couldn't get any better happy. But I have good news, after we head home, Effy and Claire will be on their way to Forks!" I was shocked._

"_Don't you understand what that means Quil?!" Robbie thought excitedly, "You and Claire can finally reunite! Hold on dude dad's coming outside, I want to see what he wants."_

"_Dude, nice!" Embry thought, "You can finally nail Claire!" My chest boiled and I snarled, I would never do that to her unless she was ready._

"_Quil! Come to Nashville, quick!" Robbie thought with fear, "Aunt Julie and Uncle Rick have been killed and Claire is nowhere to be found! There's just drops of her blood right outside her house and then her scent.. It's mixed with vampire scent." _

My world turned upside down and I ran as fast as I could to Brentwood. This couldn't be happening. Why would vampires attack in a big city in the daylight?! I was going to puke but I held it down. My mind was going crazy. I can't lose her, not when I have come so close to having her back.

A few hours later I arrived to Claire's house where the rest of the pack also met.

"Guys what happened?!" I shouted, "Robbie how could you let this happen?!" Tears were forming in my eyes and I tried to follow her scent, but I wasn't a very good tracker. Soon the Cullens arrived and I noticed young Frankie violently shaking. He had no idea what was happening, but I did. Suddenly, he burst into a wolf that was colored like a husky. He was snarling and snapping at everyone, but soon enough he was back to normal, naked and crying.

"What was that?!" he gasped looking around and Jacob told him about the wolves. Bella walked up to me and I tried hard not to pinch my nose. God she stunk.

"What was Effy doing instead of protecting Claire?" She demanded, and if on command, Effy was there glaring at Bella.

"I was saving her ass from the vamp that tried to kill her thank you!" She glared and suddenly a voice called out her name.

"Eff?" Effy turned around and everyone suddenly knew what happened. Frankie had phased and found his imprint all in one day. Effy sucked in a breath as did everyone else.

"I never thought this would happen the first time, but twice?" Effy said and Robbie looked very confused.

"How in the hell is it possible for a vampire and a wolf to imprint?!" Renesmee then walked up to us and laughed.

"Robbie, she's like me, a hybrid. That's why you couldn't quite tell if she was good or bad when you first met her," Renesmee said as a matter of fact, "That's why she's shimmering in the sunlight and not sparkling."

"Alright stop with the imprinting," I interrupted angrily, "We need to find Claire!"

I started looking around for any signs, and all I saw was a few drops of blood on the pavements. I kneeled down and touched it, shedding a tear.

"Claire," I whispered, "Wherever you are, I will find you. I promise."

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**And that is the last update for tonight! Please review! I need your opinion and there will be an update tomorrow! -Sarah**


	6. Chapter 5: Just kill me

**So here's another chapter. I don't know what to really say about it except read it and review! I hope I will have the next chapter on by tonight, but if not, I will tomorrow evening! If you have any questions feel free to ask!**

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_Claire_

I awoke to the sound of whispering. My arms were held above my head by chains that were attached to the wall behind me. My arms ached and my hands were numb from being held up for so long. I looked around in what seemed to be some sort of basement or dungeon. The walls were built of stone and the floors of concrete. It was weirdly clean compared to the dungeons I've seen in the movies. The room had been illuminated by candles creating a creepy glow. The whispering started getting louder and I heard footsteps coming in my direction so I relaxed myself and pretended to be asleep.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in my side and I heard my ribs crack. I gasped in pain and looked at the men standing in front of me. One was a big, tall, muscular man who looked like he was in charge between the two of them. He was wearing black robes and was clean shaven. His hair was pulled back into a pony tail and he had bright red eyes. Red eyes?! That's impossible. He was very angry, I could tell.

The other wasn't a man, but a boy that was maybe twelve or thirteen. He wasn't bad looking, in fact, he was cute. His hair flipped in front of his eyes. His eyes were also red and he had a grim facial expression.

"Stupid human," the big guy snarled, "we know you're awake so quit pretending." He kicked me in the ribs again and tears started falling down my face. What was going on? I haven't done anything and I have no idea who these people are.

"Enough!" The boy said sternly to the man as he was preparing to kick me again.

"What do you want?!" I cried.

"You are going to give us the information you need," the boy said.

"I'll give you any information," I pleaded, "please just let me go after you're done with me."

"Are you familiar with the Quileutes?" The boy asked and I looked at him confused.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, surprised and then there was a blow to my face. I screamed as my face throbbed.

"My uncle!" I gasped, "my uncle Sam and my cousin Robbie. Please don't hurt them"

"We aren't going to hurt them," the big man sneered, "not yet anyway."

"What do you know about Quil Ateara?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"I don't know a Quil Ateara," I said trying to figure out why they were asking me all these strange questions.

"You're saying you don't know your soul mate?" the boy laughed and then looked at the big man and nodded. He grabbed my right hand and squeezed. All the bones cracked and I cried out in pain.

"I don't know a Quil Ateara!" I screamed and tried to squirm against the restraints, causing another blow to my face. This time he hit my nose and blood started pouring out.

"You're lying!" the boy yelled.

"I swear I'm not," I pleaded, "please believe me; I have no idea who he is."

"Well if pain isn't going to work," the boy smirked, "I guess we'll just have to go get Jane."

The big man left and the boy looked at me with a grin.

"Stupid, stupid human," He laughed as the tears rolled down my face.

"What are you?" I asked. He laughed and then knelt down next to me. I tried to squirm away from him, but I was in too much pain.

"I'm sure you'll figure out soon enough," he whispered in my ear, "besides, you will be dinner soon. Or one of us, we haven't decided yet."

"Are you a vampire?" I said sarcastically and he leaned his face up to my neck, smelled it and then I felt his tongue on my neck. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and the boy chuckled and just kissed my neck.

"Quit playing stupid Claire," he smirked, "We know that you know all about us and your wolf friends." Anger boiled up inside of me.

"No I don't!" I yelled, "I have no idea what you are talking about! If I did I would have told you and quit making up stories about werewolves and vampires! They don't exist!"

"Oh but you are so wrong," a girls voice sounded, I'm assuming she was Jane. She also looked around twelve and her hair was neatly pulled back into a ballet bun. She was wearing a blood red robe and the boy smiled when he saw her.

"Alec, my brother," She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "you've done so well." She then looked at me and sneered. "Now Claire, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" I spit blood into her face and she wiped it off with her hand and then licked the blood off her hand. What the hell is she doing?! Pain suddenly seared through my body. It felt like I was being stabbed by thousands of knives and that my body was being torn apart at the same time. I also felt like I was on fire. I screamed loudly and everything went black.

Water splashed on my face and my eyes shot open. I was hoping all of this was some messed up dream, but it wasn't. A tall man with long black hair was looking at me, smiling.

"Why hello Claire," He greeted and knelt down to me, "My name is Aro."

"Please don't torture me anymore," I whimpered. I didn't know how much longer I could handle this.

"I'm not going to do anything to you," he smiled and let the chains down. My arms ached even worse because all the blood rushed back into them.

"I just need to see your hand," he said and I held my hand out to him. He then took it in his own hand and his expression glazed over.

"Fascinating," he whispered and then looked at me, "you are so innocent and hardly know about anything that really happens in the world and yet your best friend and your cousin…" he drifted off thinking and then eventually left the room without saying another word. I lay down on the cold ground and started weeping. How could this happen to me? Everything was perfect and now I just want to die. Why would they torture me? I don't hold any information other than how to dress nicely and take good pictures.

An Italian woman came up to me and gave me a plate with food on it. It had bread with a piece of lettuce and a small glass of water. I never even realized how hungry I was until she brought it to me. I scarfed it down and drank the cool water that felt amazing against my chapped lips.

* * *

I wanted my life to end. I had no idea how long I had been here, it felt like eternity. My hand was badly bruised from the man breaking it and I could hardly breathe from being kicked in the ribs so many times. I couldn't even stand up anymore that's how weak I was. I just laid there and listened to the occasional screams that came from above me. I wondered what was going on out there. I was going mad. My fingertips were bloody from me clawing the floor and I drew pictures with the blood. I was going insane.

Someone came into the room and I didn't move. Hell I couldn't move was more how I should say it. The footsteps started getting closer and suddenly there was a blow to my back. I couldn't scream anymore because I had lost my voice, but the pain was still there. It was like a knife went throughout my body. Although I couldn't make a sound, the tears still came out. The person stood in front of me, and it was the big guy from before. What was his name? Felix or something like that. He smirked at me and then held his foot over my knee. I just watched him as he stomped on it, flinching when it crushed under him, crying even harder. I tried to speak, but all that came out was air.

"Do you not make any sounds human?" He sneered and wrenched me up by my hair. I couldn't even look at him. I saw blood dripping on the ground and I hoped that he would kill me. I wanted to die so badly. He shook his head and tossed me as if I was a rag doll, but with force against a wall. My body slammed against it and I was left there alone. Broken.

* * *

"_Claire.." the voice said and I looked around. I couldn't see anyone, but I was no longer in the dungeon. I was in a beautiful meadow with a waterfall and wild flowers. I had to be dead with all the torture I had been through. The pain was gone and I felt fine. I wandered around and found a stream and drank as much water as I possibly could._

"_Claire!" the voice yelled this time. I turned around and gasped as I saw the most beautiful girl that I had ever seen. She seemed to be glowing, no, sparkling in the sunlight. She had black wavy hair that went down to the middle of her back and big golden eyes. Her lips were full and pink and she was pale as snow; like snow white. She was wearing a flowing white dress as she glided over to me. I fell to my knees and she held my hand._

"_Claire, you need to stay alive," she said, pulling me up, "I'm here to help you, tell me where you are so I can find you."_

"_I-I don't know," I stammered, "I'm in a dungeon of some sort. There are people here that claim that they're vampires."_

"_What are their names?" she asked._

"_Jane, Alec, Felix, and Aro are the ones that I know of, but other people have been here too." I had no idea if this was real or what, but if this girl could help me, then I was going to tell her everything._

"_Claire," she spoke silently, "you're dying. Promise me that you'll fight to stay alive. We're coming to save you."_

"_Who's we?!" I asked, but she was gone and the world was starting to fade to black._

"You stupid bitch!" I awoke to Felix screeching at me, "you told them where you are!" He stepped on my chest and I felt my sternum break. I gasped in pain and he stormed out of the room. Alec walked in and looked at me with sad eyes. Out of all of them, he was the only one that wasn't horrid to me. During the time I've been here, he would come and have a conversation with me, but I wouldn't say anything. I would just stare past him, wishing that my life would end. He sat down next to me and wiped a tear from my face.

"I'm not evil, you know," he whispered and I didn't say anything. He was evil. They were all evil for doing this to me; to my family. "I know what it's like to be tortured and isolated. I even know what it's like to have my family taken away from me."

I attempted to open my mouth to speak, but my lips were chapped and stuck together that my lips tore when I opened my mouth. Alec came closer to me and lifted my head up carefully while holding a bottle of water to my lips. I drank it carefully and didn't even care when it leaked out of the corners of my mouth.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Claire" he said and my eyes widened, "what they're doing to you is too much for me. You don't have any information; you proved it when Aro saw all of your memories. Now they're just torturing you for fun."

I mouthed thank you and he slowly lifted me up off of the ground. For how young he looked, he was very strong. I whimpered from the pain and the tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Shh," he cooed, "I can fix that." I freaked out at first because all the feeling I had was completely gone, but I was no longer in pain. I slunk my head back and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was in an alleyway and Alec was kneeling next to me. The pain was back and he looked worried.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized, "But I have to go. Don't worry though, they're almost here." In a flash he was gone and the pain was making me slip into darkness. I was dying and I knew it. My breath was shortened and I was bruised all over from horrible internal bleeding. All I could think about was the angel that came to me in my sleep. I had to hold on for her, but I was slipping, and fast. My vision was blurred as I saw figures coming up to me. I saw their lips moving, but I couldn't understand. My eyes were rolling in the back of my head. I was dead, I knew it. They were too late.

* * *

_Quil_

I saw her mingled body in the alley and my heart stopped. Were we too late? I ran up to her and I could barely hear her faint heartbeat.

"Claire," I said and shook her slightly. She was looking in my direction, but it was as if she was looking through me. Her head lolled to the side and I looked at Effy with pleading eyes. I knew what her power could do. She had to do something, but we might have been too late. She walked over to Claire and placed her hands on her sternum.

"Her sternum is broken," Effy said, concentrating, "I need to fix it because that's what's killing her. Effy's hands glowed and Claire gasped. I jumped forward, but Jacob grabbed my wrist. Claire closed her eyes, but I could hear her heartbeat more clearly. I picked Claire up delicately and held her limp body closely to my chest. I put my face in her hair and wept.

"It's okay Claire," I assured her even though I knew she couldn't hear me, "You're safe now."

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**Yay she didn't die! Well now she and Quil are finally united, but Claire and Quil are both very stubborn people. Hint, hint. Please review and tell me your thoughts, it would mean soooooo much to me! **


	7. Chapter 6: You Call this Home?

**Hey sorry I updated things a little slower than I said I would, but Claire is finally in La Push! Please review and tell me what you think! It would really mean a lot to me and it would help me get motivation to write new chapters!**

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Voices filled my mind before I was fully conscious. I could hear them, but I couldn't open my eyes or move around.

"What are we going to tell her when she wakes up, if she wakes up?"

"She's going to wake up, I saw it."

"Didn't you say that she might have brain damage?"

"No, the only damage she has left is bruising."

"So should we tell her or what?"

"We'll figure things out while it goes, we don't need to bombard her with everything."

"So we just slowly tell her.."

"Yes, we don't want her to go into shock."

"Shh, she's going to be awake in a minute, just let Effy and me talk to her."

Soon, my eyes fluttered open only to close again because of the blinding light. I haven't seen the light of day in who knows how long. My entire body ached and I had a pounding headache. Effy was standing in front of me and her face was filled with relief.

"I thought I lost you there for a second," she signed in relief. I tried to sit up, only to be nudged back down. "Stay lying down; you need rest."

"What happened?" I asked and looked around the big white hospital room. I had IV's in my arm and they were really uncomfortable.

"You had an accident, you're fine now," a man from across the room said. He had white blonde hair and caramel eyes. He was in his thirties and he was very handsome for his age. He was wearing a white doctor's coat and so I assumed he was my doctor.

"Are my parents dead?" I asked, tears filled my eyes, "Is Frankie alive?"

"I'm sorry," he said sadly, "luckily Frankie wasn't anywhere near your house, so he is alive."

"Who are you; where am I?"

"I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and you are in my home in Forks, Washington." I looked at him in shock. This was Effy's Uncle? I never imagined him like this. But, he was my doctor, so I had to thank him for saving my life. But how do I only have a few scratches and bruises when I saw my broken bones? And how come I'm in Forks and not Nashville?

Later that day I tried to convince the courts to let me stay in Nashville, but I was supposed to stay with Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily because I needed parenting figures. This is complete bullshit. Nashville was my home! There's only one more year until I can be on my own. What is the point of staying with Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily when I'm just going to be gone in a year? Anyway, they had shipped all of my clothes to La Push, and they only sent my TV here while leaving my furniture at my house since my parents left me their house in their will.

I was in the tail gate of Uncle Sam's Chevy truck and I was looking at all the scenery. Although Forks was the smallest town on earth, its forests were still gorgeous. I arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's house a half an hour later. Their house was surrounded by woods and a long, gravel driveway parted them and lead to the two story log cabin. I hopped out of the tail gate and walked inside the front door to find myself in the kitchen. Although it was a rather small kitchen, there was a huge dining room table. And when I say huge, I mean fitting fourteen people huge not including the two end spots. Why did they have such a large dining room table when this was only a four person household? The kitchen lead to the living room that included two, dark brown, suede couches. There was also a boxy TV that stood on the opposite wall. The floor was a tan carpet and the walls were a woodsy green. Reighn lead me up to the attic where I would be sleeping. The door was small because it was an attic door, and luckily because I was so short, I didn't have to duck to enter it. There was a full sized bed along with a dresser that had a vanity. It was actually very spacey, but it was still an attic. An air conditioning unit along with a space heater stood by my bed and that was seriously all that was in the bedroom.

The only feeling I had was sadness. This wasn't what I was used to, and so far I didn't like it. I liked to be free and I was now in the smallest town ever.

"Mom and Dad usually let us do whatever we want and as long as we're back for dinner and actually sleep here," Reighn said while avoiding my eyes, and my hard stare.

"It's not like I know anyone here anyway, so why bother going places?" I said bitterly and Reighn opened her mouth to protest, but decided to leave me in my so called "room."

I was angry. I already missed my friends, and I knew that I would miss Effy like crazy once she went back to Nashville. I was going to go to school, not knowing anyone, and I was prepared to be absolutely miserable. I decided that I was going to take a shower before dinner, I needed to relax. I put on my silk bathrobe and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the shower and hopped in, only to jump right out. It was freezing! I forgot that most people have to wait for the water to heat up. I felt ashamed to even pitying them, but I was so used to just not worrying about things. Finally, I stepped in the shower and tried to relax myself, but sooner than I wanted to, the hot water was going away and I was starting to become cold again. I turned the shower off and I was freezing. I tried to wrap myself in the towel to warm myself up, but it still didn't work.

I ran to my room and looked at outfits to wear; maybe I would go on a walk on the beach tonight. I put on a red, cowl neck, open stitch tunic sweater along with black leggings. I also put on red flats. I brushed my hair and pulled my hair back with a red head band. My hair soon dried into large ringlets. I put on very light, sparkly makeup and started to put up pictures around my room.

Tomorrow, I was going to personalize this place and make it feel like it was truly mine. There was a rap on the door and Aunt Emily peaked her head in. "Dinner's ready, I'm sure you're hungry."

I followed her out of the door and to the kitchen and I was shocked to see the huge dining room table completely full. There was only one spot left, and it was for me. I sat between Reighn and Robbie and I was soon bombarded with questions.

"What's it like in Nashville?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"When are you going back to school?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Is your hair naturally curly?"

"Stop!" Aunt Emily yelled and the entire table was silenced. "I'm sure Claire doesn't want you guys asking her about useless questions when she has just gotten back. Why don't you introduce yourselves and then eat your dinner? Maybe we could ask her questions later."

It started at the end of the table and one by one, they introduced themselves. Kim, Jared, Brady, Paul, Rachel, Jacob, Leah, Seth, and I laid my eyes on the boy that sat in front of me. He smirked and I felt fire in my heart.

"I'm Quil." After he said his name, I didn't pay attention to anyone else. I couldn't even avert my eyes from his beautiful gaze. He was so enticing and I wanted so badly to reach out and stroke his face. I managed to ungrasp myself from his gaze when Aunt Emily placed all the food on the table. There was a giant bowl of mashed potatoes along with a giant bowl of corn. There was also a large plate of steaks and a selection of drinks. I chose water and grabbed very little food.

"So who's dating who?" I asked. It might have been a little blunt, but I was curious. Everyone looked at one another, but it turned out that Jared and Kim were married along with Paul and Rachel and Jacob and his wife Renesmee. But apparently Renesmee couldn't make it tonight. Seth and Reighn are also dating and apparently Brady is crushing on someone big time.

"Quil has a girl that has the hots for him though," Embry smirked and nudged Quil, and he just continued to look down and eat his food. I looked at him for one last moment before I stood up and put my empty plate in the dishwasher. I then grabbed my white and black plaid peacoat and everyone looked at me, surprised.

"I'm going on a walk," I said and walked out into the cool, November night. I saw my breath and pulled my coat a little closer to me. I didn't know where I was going, but I made mental notes every time I turned a corner. I eventually found myself on a rocky beach and looked out at the water. The cool ocean breeze filled my senses and I felt myself starting to relax, only to tense back up again when someone came up behind me.

"It's dangerous to be out on the beach at night," I turned around and saw Quil, and my heart fluttered. He looked so dark and sexy in the moonlight, but I backed away from him, putting my guard up. I was not going to let this boy swoon me so easily; besides, I didn't even know how old he was.

"Maybe I like danger," I flirted and started to walk away, swaying my hips. I knew he would follow, but honestly I didn't care if he didn't. I heard footsteps behind me and we walked down the beach in silence.

"You don't know the dangers here," he warned and I turned around and jumped when I realized how surprisingly close he was to me. I could feel heat radiating off of his body and I resisted from getting closer to him for warmth.

"Maybe I want to find out," I teased and started to walk away from him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to him. "Ow!"

"Don't try and put yourself in anymore danger Claire," Quil said and I yanked my hand away from him. I fucking hated it when people told me what to do! I glared at him and started walking towards the woods. Suddenly, he lifted me up and threw me over my shoulder and started walking me back to my aunt and uncle's house. Anger boiled up inside of me and I started hitting his back, trying to get him to let me go.

"Seriously, it was a joke," I grumbled, "let me down." He plopped me down in an area that I didn't recognize and kneeled down to me to examine my wrist.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled and examined my arms and the bruises that were all over them. "I hate them for doing this to you."

"How could you care about what happened to me? You don't even know me." He then looked at me in shock and soon after, there was a mask over his face.

"I don't," he sneered, "I care about Sam and Emily and their kids and how they feel."

"Then take me back to the beach, I don't need you to control my life!" He just stood there and I got even angrier. "Who do you think you are?! I don't even know you! You aren't my dad and honestly you're just pissing me off."

"You need to be protected," he murmured.

"No. I. Don't." I spat and started walking in a random direction, "And if you don't take me home then I guess I'll try and find my way home and end up getting lost."

"No wait!" he said and before I knew it he was in front of me. "I'm sorry, can we start over?"

"Fine." I muttered and rolled my eyes while my arms were crossed.

"I'm Quil Ateara," he held out his hand and smiled. That name. All the memories of what happened in that dungeon came back and my stomach turned. I ran and fell on my hands and knees as I puked my guts out. He held back my hair and crawled over to a soft spot and curled up in a ball and cried.

"I'm sorry," he pleaded and tried to rub my back, but I pushed him away. No. I promised myself that I would never let anyone see me like this. I quickly wiped my tears away, stood up, and hid my emotions from him.

"Sorry about that," I said with absolutely no emotion, "I'm Claire Bennet."

"Claire, what just happened?" he asked, stepping forward and I just glared at him.

"Nothing, forget about it!" I snapped and he backed off. He started leading me home and we started discussing things such as what do people do around here and what does Quil do, and how old he is, and when I would start school.

I then tripped over a tree trunk and fell, scraping my hands. I looked at them and they were bloody. My mind flashed back to things I didn't want to think about and I started shaking again. I was starting to have a panic attack and I couldn't control myself. I started throwing things as hard as I could and Quil tried to restrain my wrists.

"I hate myself!" I yelled, "I just want to die! I can't take this." I started sobbing again and Quil held me tightly against his chest. My legs were giving out and Quil picked me up and cradled me. I was crying too much, so I didn't even care.

"I-I d-don't even kn-know you," I said in between sobs.

"Shh, I knew you were going to be like this."

"Bu-but why?" He didn't say anything and I watched as we got to my aunt and uncles driveway. I closed my eyes because I was embarrassed. I breathed in Quil's scent and it was so familiar that it shocked me. Cinnamon and pine. It reminded me of Christmas time and it helped me relax.

We entered the house and Quil explained what happened to everyone in the house. Sam told him to take him to my room and I eventually felt myself being placed in my bed. Quil slipped my shoes off and I looked at him as he tucked me in. He was so mysterious it drove me crazy. I pretended like I didn't care when I saw the look in his eyes. Pity. He sat in a chair across the room and watched me.

"I don't need you to make sure I don't go crazy," I remarked and he just sat there. Whatever. I rolled over; making sure my back was to him and started to drift asleep. I just wanted this year to go by quickly so I can get the fuck back to Nashville.

Soon, sleep overcame me, but my night was filled with nightmares and I didn't sleep very well at all. But it was still more than I had while I was in the dungeon. I secretly thanked Quil for helping me, but I would never let him know that. I couldn't.

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**Please, Please, Please review it would seriously mean so much!**

**Thanks  
**

**S.  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Something More

**Here is yet another chapter! It is so far the longest chapter out of the seven I have written along with the prologue. I haven't recieved a lot of reviews lately which makes me feel like I kind of suck, so it would be awesome if you could review and tell me your thoughts! Plus it would also motivate me to write more chapters, so please please please review, it would mean so much.**

**Much love,**

**S.**

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I awoke feeling slightly groggy. That was such a horrible dream. I sat up and looked around and realized that all of this wasn't a dream. I looked at my phone to check the date, November 17.

"It's Sunday," I groaned and laid back down. I started school tomorrow and I was not excited whatsoever. On the bright side, I was going to Port Angeles to get furniture and stuff for decorating my bedroom. Luckily, I could still access my money that I earned so Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam wouldn't have to pay for anything. I hoped out of bed and showered quickly, not caring about relaxing. Soon I was wearing a loose, royal blue sweater over a white oxford along with dark wash skinny jeans and charcoal, high heeled boots. I also had a shimmery grey scarf loosely tied around my neck. My hair was straightened and I had very little makeup on.

I headed down the stairs, grabbed a bagel, and was surprised to find the same people here from last night minus Kim and Rachel. Another boy was there that I didn't quite recognize, but they were all pigging out to breakfast that Aunt Emily must have made for them. I started gawking when I realized that none of them had their shirt on, including Frankie. One man caught my eye and I pretended not to check him out when I totally was. It was like his body was carved by an angel, that's how perfect his body was and how much his muscles stood out. He was perfectly sculpted right down to the "V" on his lower abdomen that lead to places that I didn't want to talk about because I knew it would make me blush.

"Hey Claire," Quil greeted with a perfectly husky voice and I felt myself getting extremely hot. I tried to gain control of my voice to reply back to him, but my 'hello' ended up as a small squeak and I grabbed my keys and ran out the door. How embarrassing! I _never_ did that around guys, and yet Quil made my head spin. It actually grossed me out because he was twenty nine! I mean seriously! That's creepy!

I hopped into my cute little Porsche and started driving towards Port Angeles. I soon realized that these gravel and dirt roads weren't good for my baby. Maybe I should get a different car soon. I thought to myself, but then decided to wait towards the end of the week before thinking about getting a different car. I had to concentrate on getting things for my bedroom or else I would never get the task done and it would drive me absolutely insane.

I shortly reached Port Angeles and headed towards the first furniture store that I could find. I wanted my bedroom to be my own. I already had an idea of what I wanted, so it wasn't long before I was inside my car again, looking for a place to stop for lunch. A T.G.I Fridays soon showed up in my vision and I basically floored it. I absolutely loved that place. I hopped out of my car and walked in the restaurant smiling. I was greeted by a waitress that smiled at me, but I could see that she was ready to get out of there.

"One?" she asked, looking a little surprised. I nodded and she led me to a booth by a window that overlooked the mountains. I smiled, it was beautiful here. I looked over and saw a very handsome man from across the room. He had cropped hair, like all the natives, but he had only slightly tanned skin. I could tell from his tight shirt that he was much built and it was very sexy. He had a strong jaw and I could tell that his face was slightly scruffy from not shaving in a few days. He looked at me and smirked. God he was gorgeous. His lips were full and beautiful and I couldn't keep myself from looking at his arms. The veins naturally stuck out from how buff he was and I felt my face reddening when he stood up and started walking towards me.

"Mind if I sit here?" He smiled, "I saw you from across the room and couldn't help myself from noticing that you seemed very lonely over here."

My mouth was open in shock and I just nodded. Holy hell this boy was gorgeous, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking that Quil was hotter. Gross! Stop it! He's thirty! I then smiled my glamorous smile at him and held out my hand.

"Claire Bennet," I greeted and he took my tiny hand in his rather large one.

"Dean Ackles," he replied and then added, "You don't happen to be related to Marylyn Bennet, the designer, do you?"

"She's my mom," I choked, trying to hold back the tears, "you know designers?"

"Uh, yeah," He stammered, face getting red, "I have a little sister that watches E! News a lot and she won't ever give up the remote. I'm sorry about what happened by the way."

I just nodded, not letting him see how much her death affected me, "I prefer not to talk about that."

"Then what would you like to talk about?" he asked while resting his chin on his right hand. We then got into a discussion over where he lived and where he went to school and how old he was. He was eighteen, turning nineteen in a week, and he was a senior at the school in La Push, the one that I would be going to.

"I didn't get along very well with the kids at the high school in Forks, that's why I go to the one in La Push," he said when I asked him why because he clearly wasn't native.

"Well," I began, "I'm starting there tomorrow, and I'll be a junior."

"Hopefully we'll have some classes together then," he winked. We then got into conversation of the people that he knew that lived there. Brady little sister went there along with Collin's younger brother. He also knew Robbie and Reighn, and he got along with them. Before I knew it, we were walking down the streets of Port Angeles and it was already four o'clock.

"Shoot!" I said when I checked my phone, "I didn't realize how quickly time flew by! I'm never going to get my room finished tonight."

"Well I could come help you," he offered and I took him up on that. He followed me to Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily's house and only Robbie, Reighn, and Seth were there. They all looked at me suspiciously when I walked in the door with Dean.

"Guys this is Dean," I introduced him to everyone and Robbie stood up and gave him a 'bro hug.' Apparently they all knew him, and liked him, but they were still very shocked to see him there. We headed up to my room and I started hanging up silver and white pieces of fabrics to make my ceiling seem more like a cave. I also hung up shimmery lights along with white and silver paper lanterns. I also hung up layers of white and silver curtains for the one window I had in the attic. We laid down a silver shimmery rug in front of my TV and placed a small, tufted, white sofa on one side of the bed, and a tufted, white chair on the other side of my bed.

I put a white duvet cover over my feather blanket. The cover had a black Eifel tower on it and silver sequence in certain parts. I also had grey, silk sheets. I put scented candles all over the room and soon, my room was completed with a mystifying feeling. I sat happily on my bed, smiling at the aura that the lights created at night. I looked around and I basically glowed from how happy I was about it.

Dean and I headed downstairs when Aunt Emily yelled that there was food. Quil, Embry, Collin, Brady, Seth, Frankie, Robbie, Reighn, and Uncle Sam were already chomping down on their food which was chicken covered in maple and bourbon glaze. Along with the chicken, there were also sweet potatoes that were covered in the same glaze. My stomach grumbled at the sight.

Quil's head shot up when he saw me sit in my chair in between Dean and Seth. Something flashed across his eyes, jealousy? No, that couldn't be it, he probably thought of me as an immature, naïve girl.

"So Claire," Uncle Sam said once he finished his dinner, "We were thinking about getting you into the martial arts program at your school."

"I'm already a black belt in chung ji do," I said and looked at him with my eyebrows raised, "you've been to my tournaments."

"Well the more practice, the better," Uncle Sam smiled, "besides, Quil and Jacob are the instructors."

"Really?" I said raising one eyebrow at Quil and he stared at me back until Embry wiggled his eyebrows at him. Then, he looked down angrily and I was confused. I knew I wasn't his type or anywhere close to his age, but he acted like he really didn't want me there.

I finished eating, and said goodbye to Dean, just giving him a hug. He was really sweet, but I feel like he wasn't good enough. I went up to my room and put on my under armor pants and shirt. I really felt like going on a run. I strapped my phone around my arm and put in my headphones, and soon I was out the door, running on a dirt path that ran through the woods.

Weirdly, I listen to classical music when I run. It seemed to calm my nerves rather than the hard core, repetitive music that you were supposed to get pumped up to while you were working out. I let my mind wander and I soon realized that I wasn't on the path anymore and when I turned around to see if I was still on the path, I also realized that I had been off of the trail for a long time.

I pulled out my phone ready to call someone, but I had no signal. Fuck. I walked around and started to panic a little bit when I realized that I was really lost. What if I was lost forever? Now I was really panicking and starting to yell asking if anyone had heard me. Of course there was no answer. It was nine forty-five and I was starting to get really cold. Who knows how far off of the path I was. I heard a snap of a twig and froze. One headphone was hanging out of ear and all I could hear was the now quiet classical music playing along with someone's breathing other than my own. I turned the music off and I didn't turn when I felt someone hot breath on the back of my neck. Goosebumps started rising and I felt the heat radiating off of the person behind me.

"I thought I told you not to go into the woods at night," a husky voice growled. I turned around and was face to face with the gorgeous Quil. He was slightly shaking and I backed up, pressing my back up against a tree.

"I-I went on a-a ru-run," I stuttered as he got closer to me. His face was inches from mine and if anyone saw us, they would think that we were about to kiss, but I knew better than that. He was angry. I saw the fire burning in his eyes and I actually felt terrified of Quil.

"It's dangerous out here!" he started yelling and slammed his fist in the tree next to me. It was small, so it easily crashed to the forest floor. I trembled, he was so utterly sexy, but terrifying at the same time. He terrified me.

"You could get killed," his voice cracked and a tear slid down my face.

"Please don't hurt me," I whimpered and Quil removed his hands from each side of my face. His face was filled with sorrow.

"Do you really think that I would hurt you, Claire?" He asked and his voice showed the signs of how hurt he was. He caressed my cheek with the backside of his hand and I restrained myself from leaning into his hand. It felt like fire where he had traced my cheek and I shivered, but it was the good kind.

"You seemed like you were about to," I whispered.

"I could never hurt you, Claire," his forehead was now against mine and his eyes made my heart melt. "If anything, I would do everything that I could to protect you."

"Why?" I asked. He hardly knew me. I didn't see how I was so important to him. I was just the orphaned girl that he probably pitied because I didn't have anywhere else to go. I refused to be that girl that he felt sorry for.

"You mean a whole lot more to me than you think. If anything happened to you I-I," his voice cracked and he paused for a moment. "You don't know what would happen to me if you got hurt again. I was foolish enough to let you get hurt the first time. I swear I will never let you get hurt again.

"But why do you care?" I asked, "I don't underst-"

He cut me off and put a finger on my lips. "Shh," he murmured, "you'll learn with time. Just remember that I would do anything for you in a blink of an eye; all you have to do is ask." My eyes were wide when I realized that Quil was about to kiss me. He leaned in, our noses were touching, and our lips were millimeters apart. I was breathing heavily and my heart race increased as it was also pounding so hard that I was worried that Quil would hear it. My knees were shaking from how nervous I was. No man has ever made me feel this way before, and it honestly terrifying me. Just as he was about to kiss me, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled and wouldn't look me in the eyes, "I just can't, Claire."

"I totally understand," I replied breathlessly, "that would have been extremely weird since you probably just think of me as Sam's niece." He looked at me with a hurt expression on his face again. He then mumbled something that I didn't quite understand so I just shrugged it off, not thinking about it too much.

"Let's go home, Claire," Quil saw me shivering and put his arm under my shoulder. There was so much that I wanted to ask him that I knew I couldn't. I was starting to feel embarrassed to think that he actually wanted to kiss me. To think that he would actually want to be with a girl like me. Not to mention the age difference, even though Quil looked as though he was in his early twenties, he was still thirty years old. And I was only seventeen.

The walk home had a lot of tension and I let Quil take me up to my room. I offered him to sit on my bed and he sat as far away from me as he could and still be on my bed. I tried not to let it get to me. I knew that he was only thinking rationally, and he was probably ashamed about what had happened in the woods.

"Quil, I hope this doesn't weird you out," I started, "and don't laugh at me because I'm not one to say what I am truly feeling, but I feel a pull towards you. I really want to be friends with you. I feel like I could tell you everything and I've only known you for two days."

"Then we can be friends," he said, but then added, "but don't forget that I am also your instructor at school, things can't get too close between us, Claire. At least not for now."

"Why?" I asked, "Why do I have to wait for things like this? It's just a friendship, I mean yes, I would obviously want to be more than friends, but that's damn near impossible. I mean hell if anything, this is just a crush and I'll get over it and most likely get sick of you really soon. So why even fucking bother? You led me on in the woods and you know it. If you didn't want me to be hurt then you shouldn't have done that."

He looked extremely hurt as I continued, "I don't even know why I'm saying this! It's just all spilling out. You're making me feel things that a seventeen year old shouldn't feel or think. I've never been so attached to a guy more than I have you, especially when I don't even know you very well."

"Stop." Quil said firmly and I looked at him with watery eyes. Why can't I tell what he was thinking?

"But I feel a pull towards us, don't you?" I objected, "When I'm around you, I don't want you to leave, and when I'm not around you, I just spend my time missing you."

I continued to blabber on when Quil just grabbed my face and crushed his lips to mine. My heart felt like it was going to explode as our lips molded together. One of his hands was resting on my hip while the other was in the middle of my back, pulling me towards him. My back arched as he tugged at my bottom lip with his teeth. I moaned and he froze. He pushed away from me, stood up, and looked at me with hard eyes.

"Stop." He said for a final time and walked out of my room. My lips were puffy from that passionate kiss and I was in bliss. I soon got ready for bed when I realized that Quil didn't want me, or maybe he did. But if he did, then why did he leave? He was toying with my emotions and it was driving me insane. He was just a crush. That was it. A part of me knew that was a lie but I had to keep going on with that lie because I knew that we could never be together. We probably couldn't even be friends.

But in the deepest of my heart and my mind, I knew that this was something more powerful than a crush. This had to be something more.


	9. Chapter 8: Fatile Attractions

**Hey sorry it took longer to update! I've had a busy couple of weeks. I really hope you like this chapter! I've been writing it on pen and paper since my computer crashed so PLEEEEEEAAASE review and enjoy!**

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I awoke feeling dazed and confused. Did last night really happen? I  
then realized that it was Monday; I started school today. Annoyed, I  
walked groggily into the shower and was out in a matter of fifteen  
minutes. As usual, I let my hair air dry after I ran a comb through  
it. I looked in my bedroom to see what I should wear as my first  
appearance in a new school. Unlike the school I went to in Nashville,  
this school had no dress code, except of course, showing up naked to  
school.

I put on a loose maroon sweater with a black tank top underneath. I  
also wore dark wash skinny jeans and black boots that went up to my  
knee and had silver buckles on it. The heal was a good three inches as  
was it a stiletto heal. I put on brown, sparkly eye shadow and a very  
light blush. My eyeliner was winged and my mascara made my lashes look  
huge.

I walked into the bathroom and brushed my perfectly straight teeth due  
to two and a half years of braces and once I was finished, I applied  
light pink lip gloss. I pulled my bangs back with bobby pins and  
wrapped a black, ruffled scarf around my neck. Slinging my backpack  
over my shoulder and checking the time on my phone, I smiled because I  
was right on track on where I wanted to be on time.  
I ran downstairs to the kitchen and I saw Robbie and Reighn patiently  
waiting at the table. I looked at them questionably and Robbie spoke  
up.

"Well Seth likes to take Reighn to school, but I have no ride."  
Meaning I would be the one that had to take them as Aunt Emily and  
Uncle Sam took up the opportunity to actually get to work early. I  
grabbed a chocolate, Special K protein shake out of the fridge,  
grabbed my keys off of the counter and walked out of the door.  
Robbie and I were settled in my Porsche and he let out a chuckle. I  
looked at him with my eyebrows raised and said, "What?"

"Nothing," he smirked, shaking his head, "It's just that you're  
driving a Porsche. It doesn't quite fit the conditions of these back  
roads."

"Well, I lived in Bretwood and didn't have to worry about this!" I  
argued, defensively.

"It's gonna get dirty," he mocked. I flipped him off and turned up the  
radio so I could tune him out. He looked annoyed by my taste of music.

I was listening to A Day to Remember and honestly I didn't like them  
all that much, I just like three of their songs.

We arrived at the campus and I was shocked at all the rusty pickup  
trucks that were there. I didn't want too much attention as the new  
girl, but my cherry red Porsche was basically a sign that said "Look  
at me! Look at me! I'm new and I'm fucking loaded!" I took a parking  
spot that was close to the front and hopped out with Robbie soon  
following me. Everyone was staring at me with their eyes open. Well,  
they weren't staring at me; they were staring at my car and then me.  
Some boys gawked at Robbie for getting out of a Porsche, and I  
realized that people were starting to walk towards us. Most of them  
were very hot guys. It amazed me how many hot guys could be in one  
town. In Nashville, it seemed like they were either ugly, or smoking  
hot, but the hot ones were always taken, or assholes. Here, you had a  
huge selection of guys, but I still had standards. Looks weren't, in  
fact, everything.

"Hey Robbie," one of them said and patted him on the back, "Is this  
your new girlfriend?"

"Naw man, she's my cousin that just moved here from Nashville," he replied.

"Nice!" the guy grinned, "So she's hot, and single." My face flushed  
and I tried not to look any of the boys in the eyes.

"You aren't her type," Robbie said coolly, clearly hiding a layer of  
protectiveness and anger, "Plus, she's a junior, so she wouldn't go  
after your sophomore ass. She likes older guys." How he knew that, I  
had no idea, but this was entertaining.

"Whatever man," he scoffed, puffing up his chest in exaggeration, "I  
could be the one to show her that younger guys are more fun. I could  
show her that she really wants to be a cougar. Besides, you haven't  
even asked her what she wanted; what's your name sweetheart?"  
My face flushed a deep, scarlet as he grabbed my hand and kissed it.  
I'm not going to lie, even though Robbie was right about basically  
everything, this was amusing.

"Let's go Claire," Robbie said and grabbed my arm as he led me into the school.

"So her name's Claire!" he shouted after us, "You look beautiful today, Claire!"  
I was amazed at how different this school was from the all-girls  
private school that I had previously gone to. At my old school, we  
weren't rowdy, and the hallways were always spotless. Hardly anyone  
got in trouble due to the strict requirements in order to stay in  
school, and the tuition was far too expensive to mess anything up for  
you. This was the school that would lead you into the ivy-leagues.  
Here, not only were there boys, but they were jokingly shoving each  
other into lockers, and they scattered each other's papers on the  
ground. You could tell that the floors hadn't been mopped the previous  
night before, and I was pretty sure I saw a family of cockroaches  
hiding in the corner. I was terrified. I wasn't used to the mass of  
students and the rowdiness. In Brentwood, if you wanted to be  
rebellious, you were sneaky about it, and you did it outside of  
school. We went to the office to receive my schedule, and I was amazed  
at how much easier the classes here seemed compared to the ones I took  
in Nashville.

"What are your classes?" Robbie asked, peering over my shoulder to get  
a better view of my schedule.

"English 11 with Wargle, homeroom with brown, yearbook photography  
with Bryan, Physics with Burmingham, Psychology with Wisdom, Martial  
Arts with Ateara, Pre-Calculus with Hartmann, and Quileute history  
with Black."

"You have all good teachers, except for Mr. Burmingham and your  
homeroom teacher is a bitch. You lucked out this year," I felt a  
little relieved, but I was nervous because I didn't know anyone in  
this school. I didn't want to be the loser new girl that sat by  
herself at lunch. But then again, I didn't truly care about what  
anybody thought about me.

Robbie left me at my classroom, and I was relieved when the teacher  
didn't introduce me to the class like the teachers did in the movies.  
Mrs. Wargel just pointed to a desk, and I quietly sat there. I pulled  
out my phone as I decided that I wanted to update Effy on everything  
that was going on.

_Hey Eff, what's up?_

**Well, it's a wonderful animated movie about an old man who loses his  
dear wife and decides to fufill their dream of living in South  
America. He flies his house that was attached to thousands of  
balloons, and accidentally took a boy scout with him. I absolutely**  
**love the movie; it makes me cry every time I watch it.**

I laughed when I read the text, but then I looked around, and saw that  
everyone was staring at me strangely.

_That's not what I meant haha!_

**I know! And I'm on my way to my first day at school in Forks!**

_What?! You're in Forks?! Since when?! _

**My aunt got sent to a home, so I'm living with my uncle, Carlisle.**

_I'm so excited! We should hang out after school! _

**Deal! Well I have to go to class, so I'll see you after school! Kisses!**

Oddly, at the same time, the school bell rang. I looked around and saw that my class was completely full of students. I was slightly annoyed when Mrs. Wargel told us to get out our books and open it to the Crucible. I had read the play last year, so I went into a day dream thinking about what happened the night before. Quil attracted me so much, but he was thirty! He was so mysterious and sexy. I couldn't help but imagine what might have happened if he hadn't have stopped. No. Stop it Claire.

Soon the bell for homeroom rang, and I walked into my homeroom with the same anxiety I had when I first walked into the school. Of course, I didn't know a single person in there, so I just picked an empty seat in the back, silently thanking the teacher for not introducing me to the class. I could immediately pick out the 'populars.' They were all the same. Hell, at my old school, I was one of them. A girl with scrunched, black hair that cut off at her jaw line came up to me. She had big, brown eyes, and she was a lot taller than me. By the way she was built, I could tell that she was extremely athletic. She smiled at me with an award winning smile before she spoke.

"You must be new, I'm Jana." She had a perky voice and for some reason, I could tell that she wasn't the cliché popular girl who was a stuck up bitch.

"Claire," I greeted and she grabbed my hand as she led me to the group of guys she had been flirting with.

"Claire, this is David, Austin, Erek, Brandin, and Matt," she introduced and I smiled nervously.

"So Claire, who all do you know so far," the boy introduced as Austin asked me. He was tall and lightly tanned with dark brown hair. He had caramel eyes and perfect teeth. His smile caused my heart to flutter a little bit. Wow he was gorgeous. A little bit of my mind ate at me telling me that he wasn't anything compared to Quil.

I explained to them who my cousins and my family were and how I had met Dean the other day. "So _you're_ Emily Young's niece," it was more of a statement then it were a question, but I still nodded. I guess word gets around quickly in this town.

"Well, your family hangs with the tougher guys in La Push, and they're cool, but we have way more fun," Austin winked at me and I gave him a devilish smile in return. I really hoped he meant partying because that was one of my favorite things to do. Honestly, I liked being a rebel. I liked to feel the adrenaline rush whenever there was a possibility of me being caught. Why have something shoved up your ass all the time when you have only a few more years before until you're in the real world? Hell, I say have all the fun you can while it lasts.

I found out later in homeroom that there was going to be a party on Saturday at Jana's because Jana's parents were going out of town. We were already making bets on whether or not I could out drink all the people who were going to be there or not. Surprisingly, I was actually excited about this. Who knew that this town would have people that were exactly like me here? These people didn't have a care in the world, and neither did I.

Most classes were pretty easy. I had been given a camera and an assignment for my yearbook photography class. I had to take pictures of the scenery of La Push, along with some of the animals.

Lunch had come around, and I easily found my new friends. I carried my tray over to their table and sat down next to Austin. I was extremely attracted to him, not to mention I had most of my classes with him. We had a connection, that was true, but something still pulled me away from him and towards something else. I looked up to see where the pull was coming from only to see the one and only Quil Ateara. My heart started pounding in my ears and my adrenaline started to rush. All my feelings for him were replaced by anger that boiled up in my chest. Stupid Quil for making me feel this. I'm independent damnit! I don't need him, especially since he's thirty!

I turned my attention towards Austin who was starting to play with one of my curls. I giggled and fluttered my eyelashes towards him, but glanced at Quil, only to be disappointed in his expression. He had absolutely none showing on his face, and it pissed me off even more because I knew it was just a childish crush. He could get any girl he wanted at the blink of an eye; especially since there are also gorgeous women who were sexy and mature, and then there was me. Again, I ignored the disappointment I had and soaked in the compliments that Austin was giving me.

The class I was avoiding all day was finally here and I was not excited at all. Class with Quil as my teacher was going to be horrible. Apparently all the girls signed up for the class just for the possibility of being with Quil, but only one boy and one girl were chosen for each instructor. Luckily, Austin was in this class with me. When I walked into the dressing room there was a girl in there gushing about how gorgeous Quil was and how she wished she was his student, especially since he teaches with his shirt off. I gulped at the thought of it, but continued to put on my electric blue sports bra and leggings. My sports bra pushed up my size C breasts up nicely and my toned body looked amazing with my olive toned skin. I could tell the girls were eying me enviously and I put my long hair into a ponytail.

I walked out of the locker room and I saw Austin gawking at me. I flaunted and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Quil. Holy hell he was sexy. I mean at first, I thought that Austin maybe had a chance against Quil, but hell no. I wanted to jump Quil right then and there, but since I knew I had no possible chance with him, I did the one thing I could do; make him jealous.

We were warming up and by the middle of class, Austin and I were sparring, but I was going easy on him since I was already a black belt. I soon wore Austin out and I had to spar Quil. My heart pounded again as I got into fight mode. I was way too competitive to be beaten by Quil; even if he was twice my height and way more muscular than me.

It was getting heated, and soon the other classes were starting to watch. I was breaking out in sweat, and Quil didn't even look weary. It was frustrating me as I started trying even harder. I heard the bell ring in the distance and Quil caught me off guard, pinning me against the wall. We were both breathing heavily and I felt sweat trickle down my abs. Our bodies were centimeters from touching and we were both staring deeply into each other's eyes. So. Fucking. Sexy.

"Never let your guard down," he breathed and I shuddered when his sweet breath hit my face. The heat radiating off of him was doing things to me that I shouldn't even think. In a flash, he was at least ten feet away from me. The sudden cool air caused me to have goose bumps and I crossed my arms over my chest knowing that Quil and Austin could see everything. On second thought.. I put my arms down and walked past both of them, glancing over my shoulder and winking.

When I walked into the locker room and the other girls kept telling me about how jealous they were of me.

"I have always dreamed of that happening to me," one girl gushed and I gave her a half smile. I was already giving myself a name in this school and I liked it. Once I was dressed, I walked out of the locker room to see Austin standing there, waiting for me. Or so I thought.

"Mr. Ateara wants to speak to you," he grumbled and I could see Quil through his office window. He looked pissed.

I headed over to his office and knocked on the door. I was not excited about this at all. I heard a muffled, "Come in." I walked in the room and was surprised about what Quil said to me next.


	10. Chapter 9: We have too many Dogs

**So I'm not going to spoil anything for the people who haven't seen the new Breaking Dawn Part Two, but i would just like to say that it was AWESOME! At first, I was about to walk out of the theater because I was so angry, but it was REALLY good. So I'm not too excited about this chapter, but the next one is exciting. I just had to get this chapter over with. Please review and tell me what you think. It would mean a ton to me!**

**Thanks,  
**

**-S  
**

I opened the door to Quil's office and he looked at me with a stern expression.

"Look, if you're going to yell at me for something I did, you might as well drop it because I re-"

"You did well today, Claire," he interrupted, and I could see that there was kindness in his eyes. His facial expression then hardened, "But I think you'll need more practice for more protection."

"Protection from what?" I interjected. Quil was always being so confusing with this kind of stuff and it was driving me insane. I mean what the hell is he talking about with this protection crap?

"I wouldn't be able to stand it if they hurt you again," he said softly, averting his eyes from mine.

"In case you haven't noticed, Quil, if they capture me again, I wouldn't be able to protect myself; hell, you wouldn't be able to protect me from them."

"You don't understand," he grumbled angrily.

"What don't I understand?" I threw my hands up, "That's all you've been saying for everything I have argued with you about! And guess what Quil, we haven't even known each other for that long! Yes, I may be a naïve seventeen year old, but if I don't understand, then please, be my guest to explain it to me."

"I can't," he said through clenched teeth. Annoyed, I started to walk out of the room.

"Claire Bear wait," I froze dead in my steps and turned around slowly. He looked as if he were in shock.

"Why did you call me that?" I asked him, "Only Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam called me that and that was until I told them that I thought that name was stupid when I was four."

"Why is it such a big deal?"

"Because I hate that name!" I yelled, "I don't know why, but every time I hear it, it fills me with deep sadness that I really don't feel like dealing with. Now why did you call me that? We've known each other for a few days and you're already giving me nicknames? We aren't even friends Quil. You're my teacher. That's it." He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but I held my hand up and walked out of his office.

I immediately felt horrible. I'm _never_ this mean to anyone. I don't even have anger issues and right now I'm doing both! I thought about going back into his office to apologize when I was suddenly greeted by Dean. Weird, I was expecting to see Austin.

"Hey," I smiled and walked closer to him, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

He smiled back, and being a gentleman, grabbed my books so he could carry them.

"I saw you come in here after lunch and I noticed that you were struggling with all these books, so I thought that I could save you from all the torture." I flinched at his word phrasing and decided to just let it go. He couldn't possibly know what happened to me; so I couldn't get mad at him for this.

"Well thank you, that's very kind of you," I smiled and fluttered my eyelashes, making it obvious that I was flirting with him.

"You and Coach Ateara looked pretty pissed in there; what's going on between you two?"

_So much more than you could imagine._ I thought to myself, but instead said, "I don't know. I guess I'm just making myself a bad reputation already."

"Seriously?" he looked at me shocked, "Normally Quil likes all of his students, especially the ones that do well in his class."

"I guess he just doesn't like me," I said bitterly, making it clear that I didn't want to discuss the subject any longer. He dropped me off to my class and gave me an awkward side-hug.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, and I soon found myself sitting in my car, listening to "Train" Pandora station while waiting for Robbie. Effy and I were planning on meeting at the mall so I was getting a little impatient. I jumped when Robbie opened the driver's car door.

"Claire, the boys want to see how you're doing." I reluctantly got out of the car and looked at the giant men in front of me. Some of them I recognized from being at Uncle Sam's and Aunt Emily's, such as Collin, Brady, and Seth. Frankie was also there. There were four others that I didn't recognize, but one thing stood out; none of them were wearing shirts. Geez, aren't they cold? They all also had the same tattoo on their arm.

"Claire, we've decided that you are going to have some fun with us today," Seth said as Reighn came up to him, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She seemed tense, almost as if she were mad. What was up with her?

* * *

_Reighn_

Claire could tell that something was wrong when I came up to the group, but I couldn't tell her. She was just so nice and the girls here didn't understand why all the guys were hanging around her.

It started from the very beginning of the day when Seth dropped me off. I met up with some of my friends; the stuck up group of girls of La Push. I didn't really like any of them, but if you wanted to survive at this school, you had to do what you had to do. Seth and the pack were pretty much my friends; my family means everything to me. I don't mind it at all honestly. Claire seemed like she didn't want anything to do with her family.

If only she knew everything about what her family truly was, maybe things would be different for her. Claire is too independent and hard headed to think any way except her own. That's why mom, dad, Robbie, and I knew that she was going to give Quil a hard time. She can't change who she is. The funny thing is that Quil is also extremely stubborn, so I feel this would be entertaining for everyone.

Lunch soon came around and it pissed me off when I heard Mary talking shit about Claire.

"I mean seriously? That girl is already with the fun populars?" She spat, "next thing you know, your cousin will be dating Dean Ackles." I rolled my eyes; Claire has never been tied down by a guy before, and if it weren't for imprinting, I don't think she ever would have.

"She's not even that pretty," Hope said and I shot her a mean glare.

"No, she is pretty," Mary actually defended, "she looks like Amanda Seyfried as a brunette, but she's not Jennifer Lopez pretty. If she weren't a grade older than us, I would say we should show her, her place, but don't worry, Jana's my cousin and she's throwing as party this weekend so I'm sure I can talk some sense into her."

"Shut up," I sneered, "You guys are just being jealous."

They kept quiet the rest of lunch, but I could see the mean glares that they were sending towards Claire.

At the end of the day, I met Mary at her car and the group quit talking when they saw me come up to them.

"What's going on?" I asked suspiciously and they all looked across the parking lot at none other than Claire who was talking to the pack.

"She now has the pack of hotties wrapped around her finger," Mary said enviously.

"Maybe it's not what you think," I defended, "Maybe Claire really is cool and you just haven't gotten to know her yet." I didn't even want to listen to what else they had to say, so I walked over to Seth and tried to ignore everything that had happened today.

* * *

_Claire_

"Oh, and what do you consider fun around this hell hole?" I crossed my arms and noticed that they all flinched when I called this place a hell hole. I leaned against my car and tried to pretend that I didn't feel bad about saying that.

"Cliff diving!" Brady yelled excitedly.

"Are you kidding me?" I choked, "you do realize that it's November and it's freezing outside, right?"

"Yeah Brady," Robbie glared at him, "It's too _cold_."

"Oh, right," he stammered, "Then I guess we could go to the mall in Port Angeles, or something."

"That's actually what I was planning on doing with my friend, Effy, anyway," I smiled, "But, are you guys going to come without shirts on?" They all looked at each other as if they regretted wanting to do anything with me. They came along anyway, and I was relieved to see that Effy was already in the mall's parking lot. Frankie practically ran up to Eff and gave her a giant hug which surprised me. I then did the same thing. Her face was filled with concern, but I just smiled at her. We all walked into the mall, but I could feel how much tension there was. I wonder why. I fell in love with the first store we saw, the pet store.

"Oh my gosh!" I squealed and ran into the store. Seriously, this was the greatest place on earth in my opinion. I immediately found the puppies that were up for adoption, and fell in love with all of them. There were huskies, Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers, and Dutch hounds. I finally found the pups that I have been dying to have for what seems to be forever; poodles.

"Aren't these adorable?!" I gushed while holding up a parti poodle to Robbie's face.

"Yeah, sure," Robbie said awkwardly, "We don't need any more dogs."

"But we don't have any dogs," I said suspiciously.

"It's a little inside joke," Robbie admitted, "Why don't you ask for one for Christmas or something?"

"But I want this one," I whined. I held up the pudgy black and white poodle that looked like she had a mask over her eyes and had black ears. I had always wanted a dog, but my parents were always too reluctant to get one because they didn't think I was responsible enough to take care of one. Sadly, I put the puppy down and they hurried me out of the door. All I could think about was the poodle pup. She was the largest one, but the smallest one at the same time; let's just say you could tell that she liked to eat.

We then went to a local store that I've never even heard of before and started looking for school hoodies and t-shirts since tradition is huge in La Push. Soon, I had bags full of maroon and gold hoodies, sweatpants, and t-shirts; not my favorite colors, but I guess I would just have to deal with it.

We were sitting in the coffee shop in the mall when Quil happened to walk up to us. My stomach filled with butterflies, and my face got hot only for it to be replaced with anger a short second later.

"Hey guys," he smiled and sat down in a chair right next to me. I crossed my arms and just ignored him. I would not be that pathetic teenage girl who is obsessed with her teacher just because he's hot.

"Well we were going to get some school spirit into Claire's life, but then she found the pet store and she hasn't shut up about some toy poodle she wants," Reighn laughed.

"A toy poodle?" Quil raised his eyebrow, "I don't see you as the type of girl to have a yippy dog; I see you having a manly dog. Plus, aren't they hard to train?"

"Actually," I defended, "Poodles are the world's smartest breed." I then described the cute puppy to Quil, and he looked at me with a grin on his face.

"What?" I asked, "Do you think this is funny?"

"No," Quil assured, "I think this is quite fascinating, actually." I held his gaze for what seemed like forever and I looked away when I felt the butterflies that I had hidden away return. I noticed that everyone was staring at us as if they had hope in their eyes. Annoyed, I got up and started running for the exit. What was this feeling? It was driving me insane and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Right then I wished that my mom was with me so I could talk to her about this. My throat started swelling when I got to my car. I had to get out of this place; I needed to get away from Quil, for he was clouding my every thought and it was driving me insane.

"Claire, wait!" Quil yelled after me and I ignored him. I hoped into my car and drove home, practically flooring it. I got to Uncle Sam's and Aunt Emily's and the tears were already pooling in my eyes and I was trying to keep them from spilling over. I just want to go home. I miss my house and my parents, especially my mom. The tears spilled over when I reached my room. I sat on my bed and sobbed into my pillow to keep anyone from hearing me. I cried myself into a dreamless sleep and the sound of knocking awoke me. I checked my phone and discovered that it was six-thirty. I didn't even realize that I had slept for two and a half hours.

"Claire, dinner's ready if you're up for it," Aunt Emily said and I pulled on a yellow hoody and maroon sweats. I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail as I walked downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw the group of guys huddled around something in the living room. Annoyed, I started to turn around and go back upstairs, but stopped when I heard a bark, well, a yip. I turned back around and discovered the small puppy from the pet store with a red bow tied around her neck.

I ran up to her and picked up the puppy excitedly. I turned around and looked at the group as they all pointed towards Quil.

"Thank you so much!" I thanked him and after I handed the pup to Reighn, I ran up and gave Quil a massive hug. I felt him breathe in my scent as I did the same; cinnamon and pine. The electricity between us was driving me insane and it kept me from letting go. If anything, it drew me closer to him. I felt like I could be there forever. Maybe I shouldn't ignore my feelings; he did get me a puppy.

I let go and started playing with the pup that I decided to name Izzy. She slept mostly, but I could not let her go. She was just so precious. I fell asleep on the couch with her in my arms and I could feel Quil carry me to my bedroom. I felt a stroke on my face and pretended to be asleep when I heard Quil and Reighn talking about me.

"She's driving me insane, I can't tell if she even likes me or not. We don't even have to be in a relationship together, but she's pushing me away."

"Don't worry. She likes you a lot, but she's used to being independent, and in case you haven't noticed, you two are both a lot alike, well with the stubbornness at least."

"But she's my imprint; you have no idea how much it hurts to see her flirting with other guys and it makes me so mad when I see the way they look at her when she isn't looking. It's like she's a trophy that they are all trying to receive."

"You should know her better than that, just give her time."


	11. Chapter 10: Cloud Nine

**Here's another chapter! No one ahas reviewed in a while and it makes me very sad :( Please review and tell me your thoughts about the story, it would mean so much to me! **

**-S**

* * *

The Feeling of sudden wetness on my face was what woke me up. I opened my eyes glad that little Izzy woke me up from my late afternoon nap. I didn't have school today because Thanksgiving was yesterday. We went over to Jacob and his wife Renesmee's house for Thanksgiving dinner and I didn't understand at first why my aunt and uncle's group of friends didn't stay there more often because their house was huge. But, apparently they didn't like Renesmee's family who I still haven't met.

Tonight was the party at Jana's house, and when I asked Aunt Emily if I could go, I was surprised when she actually said yes. Apparently this was a banger, so I had the perfect outfit picked out. Everyone was telling me that Austin and Dean were both already obsessed with me and they were already fighting over me, which made me smirk.

I picked up Izzy and put on her green and red striped sweater and started to head downstairs to let her outside. My puppy has already clung to me and I was obsessed with her. I had already picked out seven outfits for her. Since Christmas was coming up, I had already picked out Christmas bows and sweaters for her.

To my shock, Quil was downstairs, sitting at the kitchen counter, whispering something to Uncle Sam. They abruptly stopped when I finally walked into the kitchen. Quil looked up at me with his big brown eyes that had flecks of caramel and green in them. He then smiled with his perfect pearly whites and I could feel my heart speed up. I quickly connected Izzy's leash to her harness as I tried not to blush. I could feel his eyes on me as I hurried out of the kitchen door. As soon as I walked outside, I heard someone also follow me.

"So what are you up to tonight?" Quil asked me and I could feel the heat radiating off of his body.

"I'm about to start getting ready to go to a party," I replied.

"Any boy you are trying to impress?" he asked casually, but I could tell in his eyes that he really wanted to know.

"Not really," I then smirked, "I pretty much have the two hottest boys in school wrapped around my finger already."

"And who might they be?" his face darkened.

"Austin Brooks and Dean Ackles; apparently they're even fighting over me for who's going to take me to the Santa Switch Dance," I wiggled my eyebrows in excitement and Quil said nothing in response. There was an awkward silence and Quil walked back into the house. I followed him soon after once Izzy was done doing her thing.

Thanksgiving had cause Quil and I to become closer, and it helped that he bought me a puppy. He still annoys the crap out of me because he is so over protective for some reason. Plus, we aren't even dating, and we never will because of the age difference. If only it wasn't frowned upon in today's society. Boy, the things I would do to hi- No Claire, stop. I immediately started blushing. I could tell that they noticed, but none of them said anything about it.

I ran up to my room and fixed my curly, waist length hair to where it looked decent and put on a sparkly, grey, lightly-knitted hat along with light, silver eye shadow. I threw on a white, cotton, long-sleeved shirt, grey skinny jeans, and strappy, teal-colored heals. To complete the look, I wrapped a teal scarf around my neck and put on my grey peacoat. After I put Izzy in her crate, and headed out the door.

"Claire," Uncle Sam called to me once I reached my car.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful and be home by two. If you need someone to come pick you up, call me." I gave him a thumbs up and ignored Quil's worried expression. Even though it was tucked inside the woods, finding Jana's house was easy. There were already people there, and I could already smell the weed as I got out of the car. I had never smoked weed before, but I've never really had an interest in it. I walked up to Kylie and David who were all over each other and taking hits of weed out of Kylie's hot pink, yellow, and orange bowl.

"Hey Claire!" Kylie smiled and waved at me, "If you give me a dollar, I'll let you have a hit of this!"

"No thanks," I declined, "Besides, I've never smoked before."

"In that case, have three for free!" Kylie jumped up and held her bowl up to my face. I shrugged what the hell, nothing wrong with trying. I took my first hit and started coughing my lungs out. Holy hell my lungs are on fire! After about a minute of not feeling anything, I took my next two hits. Nothing. I felt nothing except for my lungs that felt like they were burning. Annoyed, I walked over to something that I knew would make me feel something; bourbon. If there was one thing I was good at, it would be holding my liquor. I filled my entire cup and right as I was about take a drink, Austin and Dean came up to me. I could tell by their facial expressions that they were buzzed, but they weren't on cloud nine yet.

"Hey beautiful," Dean smiled, "still think you could out drink me?"

"Hell yeah!" I started chugging my cup of bourbon and they both raised their eyebrows, clearly impressed. Dean pulled me over to a corner.

"Hey you don't have to try this," he whispered, "but I have some of my mom's anxiety medicine if you want some." I nodded, already feeling buzzed and he placed four, tiny, klonopin pills and I took a swig of vodka with them to wash them down. He did the same and I put my hands on Dean's muscular chest. He was so fucking sexy. I grabbed his face and started making out with him, not caring who saw. He grabbed my ass and lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, noticing his very hard erection through his pants. He sucked on my lips and I rocked my hips against him and he moaned in my mouth.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered. I nodded and him trying to keep the spinning room under control. I couldn't quit giggling and everything was so blurry. Every blink seemed like I was falling asleep, but I knew it was the pills. I clung to Dean as we started walking into the woods. I thought everything was so hilarious. I then pushed Dean away. Laughing, I started to climb a tree. I slipped at first and then kept climbing. _Oh shit. _I thought to myself as I sat myself on a branch. _I'm stuck_.

"Claire!" Dean yelled, "Seriously, come back down, you could fall!"

"Come and get me!" I yelled back through giggles and then started laughing even harder when I almost fell.

"I'm going to get help! Just stay there Claire!" Dean ran to the house and I put a hand on my burning face. Geez I was on cloud fucking nine. I laughed even louder until I heard a howl. I froze and the hair on the back of my neck rose. What was that? I looked around, and through the blackened vision, I could see a white figure in the woods. No, a person who was really pale.

"Hey!" I yelled at them and waved, almost falling out of the tree again. In a flash, the figure was gone and suddenly the ground was shaking and I looked down to see a pack of huge wolves running. When I mean huge, I mean _huge_. The shaking was enough to make me lose my balance and soon I was clinging to the tree for dear life. That's when the tears started flowing.

"Help me!" I screamed through drunken words and I could have sworn one of the wolves stopped and looked at maybe. Or maybe I was imagining them. I had already decided that I was going to die from falling out of this tree. My heart rate increased and I started breathing heavily. Now I couldn't breathe. What was happening to me?! My arms slacked as everything when completely black.

Everything was so groggy and blurry. Where was I? I clung to the feathered comfo

* * *

rter that was keeping me warm. I sat up and looked around the room that had forest green walls and a brown carpet. One wall had a poster of a wolf pack, and another had a poster of the tribal symbol. Where the fuck was I?! I started to panic and I looked down at what I was wearing; a huge t-shirt that I didn't recognize. Oh my gosh, did I go home with someone last night? I tried to think about what happened last night, but all I could remember were bits and pieces. Something about a wolf, but maybe that was a dream. Geez, I have never been this messed up before. Who knows what kind of stupid things I could have said last night.

"I see you're up," a familiar husky voice said from the doorway. I looked and started furiously blushing when I saw who it had been; Quil. Oh shit, I had sex with my martial arts instructor. But I was a virgin; shouldn't I be in pain right now?

"Qu-quil," I stuttered, "Did we..?"

"No," he said abruptly, "why would you think that?" I started furiously blushing and shrugged.

"What happened?" I squeaked.

"You made a very bad decision," he said angrily, "how could you do that, Claire?"

"I don't know," I whimpered, "Where am I?"

"My house, you were way too messed up last night for me to take you back home to Sam's," he looked so disappointed in me and I wanted to hide under the covers. I was so ashamed of myself. Wait, if I was at Quil's house, did that mean that I was in his bed? I started blushing even harder and started imagining the things that could have gone on between us in here. I felt my legs getting hot and I tried to keep myself from imagining it. Stop it, Claire, stop. Good thing Quil couldn't tell, I would be even more embarrassed. I then started to think about how Quil's in his late twenties and how he is very good looking. There was no way that he was a virgin. I then started imagining things that could have happened between him and other girls in here. Yup, that turned me off, but my legs were already soaked.

Quil's head shot up and I saw him breathe in deeply. I pretended that nothing happened. He couldn't possibly smell me, could he? I hopped out of bed to let myself cool off and I started to become very self conscious of what I was wearing. If I'm in this huge t-shirt when I was wearing layers, that means that this was Quil's shirt. That also must have meant that Quil was the one that undressed me. I looked down, avoiding his face and shirtless body so I wouldn't start thinking about these things again. While looking down, I noticed his very deep "v" just before his sweats. I wonder what it was like underneath. Claire Elizabeth Bennett, stop it right now! Yeah, fuck that; I was going to think about to whether I wanted to or not and my body definitely wanted to think about it.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked, noticing Quil scanning my legs. This time it was his turn to blush. He just pointed and walked out of his room, giving me privacy to change. I looked in his bathroom mirror and groaned. I look like shit. My hair was a rat's nest and my makeup was all smeared. I took this time to wipe my makeup off and run a brush that was in my purse through my hair. I put my hair in a ponytail and looked around in his bathroom.

It was a typical guy's bathroom. His shower curtains had pine trees on them and all of his towels were a dark green. I noticed a picture of him with a little girl on the bathroom counter. Aw, maybe this was his niece or something- wait. I looked more closely at the picture at Quil who looked as though he were the same age today, smiling and holding a very happy two year old girl with a head of bouncy curls on her head. A little girl who looked a lot like me. What the hell? I furrowed my eyebrows and looked through one of his bathroom sink drawers. A stack of wallet sized pictures were there. All with my mother's handwriting on the back.

_To Quil:_

_Claire- Kindergarten _

I flipped the pictures around, and sure enough, it was a stack of my school pictures up to this year's all with the same thing written, except for a different grade. My stomach started to roll. What was going on? I dropped to my knees, along with dropping all of the pictures and practically threw my head into the toilet. I puked up all that I had eaten from last night and I felt him pull my hair back for me.

Once I was done, I leaned my back against the bathtub. Quil flushed the toilet and noticed the pictures on the ground.

"Why do you have my school pictures?" I asked him looking him dead in the eyes.

"I used to babysit you," he admitted, "Your mother has been sending a picture of you to me ever since you moved to Nashville." Believable, but I felt like he was holding something back. I decided not to say anything else about it because I honestly didn't feel like talking about it.

"Quil," I said while we were sitting on his couch eating pizza, "Are there wolves around here?" He froze.

"Some, but not very many."

"I think I saw one last night," I admitted.

"I think you saw a lot of things last night, Claire," He laughed at me and I threw the crust of my pizza at him.

"I'm being serious. I am almost one hundred percent sure that I saw a pack of huge wolves last night."

"That's impossible, no one has seen a pack of wolves here in years," he argued.

"There are many impossible things that people don't know about," I whispered, trying not to think about what happened.

"I have a question," I spoke up, "do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Well why not?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Because I just don't want one right now, I don't think this girl is ready for a relationship."

"Oh, did she just get out of a relationship or something?" I asked again, almost feeling as though I was really annoying.

"I don't think this is a very appropriate thing to be asking me," Quil ended the conversation and I crossed my arms and huffed in aggravation. I just wanted to know because I really was curious. Oh well, I'll get it out of him sooner or later. But right now, I had an even bigger thing to worry about. Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily.

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**Please review, it would mean so much to me! It also helps give me motivation to type more! Thank you so much for reading!**

**-S**


	12. Chapter 11: Discovery

**Hey here is yet another chapter! I honestly think it is kind of boring but it is very necessary. The next chapter will be up by Thursday so please stay tuned and please review! It helps me so much!**

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Christmas time soon came around, and the snow came with a vengeance, but I didn't mind; I loved snow. Today, I went on a walk with my adorable toy poodle. She was wearing a light blue coat along with booties because it was cold and icy outside. I was wearing a black pea-coat along with dark wash skinny jeans, and black, knee-length, snow boots. Underneath my coat, I wore a bright, red, tight-fitted sweater. My hat, scarf, and mittens were all knitted and all the same bright, red color as my sweater. My curls were, as usual, loosely falling down my back and fell almost to my butt.

The crystalline snowflakes fell delicately all around me as I felt one land softly on my cheek before it quickly melted due to my body heat. The woods looked beautiful, for everything was covered in a sparkly blanket of snow. I sighted a cardinal in the distance and smiled, noticing the contrast of the bird's bright, red feathers against the white snow.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I jumped to the sudden voice behind me.

"Quil!" I scorned, holding my hand to my chest in surprise, "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!" I playfully slapped him, but not without noticing how firm his chest was. He was only wearing a dark, grey hoody and light-wash jean. I would have commented on his apparel because it was _freezing _out here, but it would be pointless because it seemed like none of the guys around here got cold. Plus, I noticed how hot (temperature-wise) they always were; must be a Quileute thing.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not," he teased, "It's hilarious seeing you jump like that." I glared at him, but I knew that I couldn't be mad at him. Quil has become one of my best friends, and all of my other friends were jealous because he is drop dead gorgeous. Of course, I have sadly accepted the fact that it is never going to happen between us, but it doesn't hurt to look. He was so much fun. He made me feel so adventurous and I loved it. He is still all macho protective, and is still on his 'I can't let you get hurt again; you need protection' ordeal, but I have gotten used to it no matter how infuriating it may be. He pretty much knew everything about me, but I honestly don't know very much about him. I mean, I know that his best friends are Jacob Black and Embry Call, and I also know that his favorite color is royal blue, but what else did I know about him?

"You know, your dog is perfectly warm in her own fur," Quil smirked, "Plus, her body heat is a lot higher than humans, so she's probably burning up in that coat you're making her wear."

"How would you know?" I argued and picked up Izzy, "I think she loves it, and every other time we go outside and she doesn't have her coat on, she shivers." She licked my face and yipped happily. We started walking around the woods in silence, but it was an awkward silence. It was peaceful; the kind of silence that you could have with your best friend.

"You know," I finally spoke up, "I hated it here when I first moved here. I thought it was pathetic and small compared to Brentwood, but now I realize that there is so much nature and so many things that I love to do here. I can't wait for it to warm up again so I can go cliff diving and start rock-climbing again."

"I hated it here, too while growing up," Quil replied, "I thought all of this tradition stuff was dumb and I just wanted to get the hell out of here. Then something happened to me, and I realized that I had to stay here- I want to stay here."

"Quil, why do you hang out with me all the time? I mean, I'm just a naïve seventeen year-old and you're a mature twenty-nine year-old. I don't understand."

"Age is just a number," he said simply, "Plus, you fit in with the guys."

"Ew! No I am not!" I interjected.

"Not the gross factor," he laughed, "You can eat more than any girl I have met, except Leah, of course, you love to play video games, you love outdoorsy things, you like sports, and you have burping contests with Embry every time we all hang out. You've proven yourself to be one of the boys; I like that." I tried to hide my disappointment, but Quil noticed; he notices everything.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Nope, this is just my thinking face," I lied. One of the boys?! Who does he think he is? I am _not_ one of the boys! I am a girl; a full-blown, sparkle loving, shopping crazy, girly-girl! One of the boys, hmpf! I'll show him. I refuse to be friend zoned. Claire Bennett _refuses_ to be friend-zoned. I always get what I want when it comes to guys, and what I want is Quil. I like too many guy things and that's why Quil doesn't want me? Ridiculous! That's it, if he thinks that being the way I am is like one of the boys, then I guess I'm going to have to show Quil the girly-girl side of me to show him than I am not just 'one of the boys.'

"Claire, are you listening to me?" Quil pulled me out of my haze and I looked up an into his big, beautiful eyes.

"Yeah, sorry," I muttered, "I was just thinking."

"Well stop it!" He joked, "You're too young to be thinking!"

"Well I do, so get over it!" I snapped. Quil raised his eyebrows and held up his hands defensively.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I don't know what I said wrong; I was just joking." I was about to respond, but my thought process was interrupted by an ear-splitting howl. It was clearly a wolf howl, and it made my skin crawl. The noise was close by, and I tightened my grip around Izzy nervously when she started to wimper.

"Qu-quil," I stuttered, "What was that?" I looked at him and he had a worried expression on his face. There was then more howls from even more wolves; some were farther off than others. I inched towards Quil nervously. Holy fucking shit, we were about to be attacked and eaten by wolves.

"Claire, you need to go back to Sam's!" he ordered.

"I don't know my way home, and what if I get attacked on the way back?"

"Just follow the trail; I'll be right behind you."

I ran home as fast as I possibly could. I reached my aunt and uncle's house and quickly set Izzy inside. I looked behind me to discover that there was no sign of Quil. My heart dropped. Maybe I should wait a little bit just to see if he had been a little slow. Five aching minutes went by and there was still no sign of Quil. I have to find him. I ran back into the woods, not caring that it was starting to get dark outside, and the blizzard had just started. I followed the path until I heard a growling. Crap, I didn't think about the fact that I might have to face the wolves. I saw the pack of giant wolves ahead of me, all huddled in a circle. I silently climbed a tree next to the pack and peaked around, looking for Quil. There was still no sign of him.

The wolves were _huge_. So I wasn't imaging it when I got messed up at that party.. They were all different colors; reddish brown, chocolate, light grey, a sandy color, one that looked like a husky, a pale grey with black spots, a russet colored one, an ashy brown, a white one, and one that was all sorts of different colors. The russet colored wolf seemed to be the one in charge. Suddenly, the pale grey wolf with black spots starts shifting. I rubbed my eyes and discovered a very naked Embry Call pulling up his pants in front of the pack of wolves. What the hell!? In shock, my foot slipped and I fell out of the tree and landed with a thud.

All the wolves turned at me and growled and I screamed in terror. I am such a dumbass! Why did I have to go and run after Quil?! Embry ran up to me with his hands up to calm me down.

"Whoa, Claire," he grabbed my arm and I pulled away quickly, "just calm down, this is hard to explain."

"You want me to calm down?!" I screeched, "There are giant wolves in front of me and you just changed from one! Don't you dare say I'm completely blown either because I am completely straight!"

"I'm not saying you're on drugs," he replied and held my wrists together, "Just watch." All of the wolves went behind the trees as if they were hiding from me. Collin, Brady, Leah, Seth, Jacob, Frankie, Quil, Austin, and Jana walked out from behind the trees. What the hell is going on?

"What the fuck!" I shouted, "Is this a prank?"

"Claire, calm down," Quil stepped forward and I backed away from him, "We're werewolves." Okay, this is definitely a joke. Werewolves do not exist. They are just fucking with me.

"Werewolves huh?" I joked, "And let me guess, you all have a pack leader?"

"Actually yes," Quil said with the most serious expression on his face, "Jacob." Jacob's body then exploded into the giant, russet colored wolf. Oh my god, they aren't lying.

"O-oh," I stuttered and then blackness consumed my vision.

I awoke from that horrible dream only to see the exact same people that were in it, standing all around me. So it wasn't a dream, great.

"Get away from me," I practically growled at everyone. Yes it was ballsy, but they all took a step back, all of them except for Quil. "You too."

"Do you want me to take you up to your room so I can explain this to you?" Quil asked and I just glared at him, "Or someone else in the pack could talk to you instead."

"I'll explain it to her," I deep, gruff voice spoke; Uncle Sam. Everyone seemed to back away from him and I just looked at him in shock.

"Oh great," I said sarcastically, "You too?"

"Let's go up to your room, Claire. I'll explain it to you once we're alone." I followed Uncle Sam up to my bedroom and he shut the door behind us. I sat on my soft bed and waited for him to speak. I was too confused to even know where to start with the questions, so I just let him explain himself.

"Our tribe has an inner power. It is only activated when a threat to our people is near. The inner power is that we can transform into werewolves. I was the first one in over fifty years to change. Our enemy had been near and that's when the fever set in and I phased for the first time. Then it was Jared, then Paul, and soon Embry, Jake, and Quil. Our enemies started coming in huge numbers and that's when Leah, Seth, Collin, and Brady turned. After a while, it was just us. Our enemy had been defeated, but you can't take back the power once it's been unleashed," Uncle Sam looked at me as I soaked it all in.

"When did Frankie, Austin, and Jana turn?" I asked, pissed off that Frankie, my own older brother didn't tell me.

"They have all turned recently, Frankie first phased when your mother and father.. Anyway Austin did a couple of weeks ago, and Jana today."

"Explain to me _everything_," I ordered.

"Our worst enemy is the only thing we have ever killed; cold faces. Except now, people know them as vampires." A cold chill ran through my spine as I thought about the events that had happened only two months ago. So Felix wasn't lying..

"Although this power never goes away, you can choose to not phase. That is what I have done. When you are frequently phasing, you don't age. Once Emily and I got married, I decided to quit phasing and that's why I don't look as young as the rest of them. Paul and Jared also quit phasing because they also wanted to settle down. Your body bulks up so you can be invincible which is also why they are so buff. I am sure you have noticed their high temperatures also. Yes Quil, Jacob, and Embry may technically be twenty-nine/thirty, they are all physically sixteen, and have the minds of sixteen year olds until they decide to stop phasing."

"Aunt Emily's face.." I drifted off into thought and a pained expression appeared on my uncle's face, answering my question. So Quil is actually sixteen? That means..

"Are there any vampires in Forks or La Push?"

"In La Push, no, but in Forks, yes," he replied, "Vampires might be a little different than Hollywood has portrayed them. They don't have fangs, but they have razor sharp teeth. They don't burn in the sunlight, but fire does kill them. Wooden stakes are useless along with garlic and the reflection crap. They are super strong, have marble skin, and they can travel faster than almost anything; anything except for werewolves. A way to figure out that they are vampires though is their touch, their eyes, and their appearance in sunlight. They are icy cold to the touch, the 'vegetarian' vampires have caramel eyes, as the 'carnivores' have red eyes. They also sparkle in the sunlight."

"Who are the vampires that live in Forks?"

"None other than the creepy Cullens," Uncle Sam smirked.

"What?!" I choked, "Effy is a Cullen and I can guarantee you that she is not a vampire. We went to Florida together and we were in the sunlight all week, no sparkles."

"That's because Effy is a hybrid, half vampire, half human." My jaw dropped and I did not want to talk about this anymore. I was the maddest at Effy. How could she have not told me? In all honesty though, I was terrified of the people who lived with me now. This can't be true, but if it was, that meant that Quil was only sixteen. Maybe age is just a number.


	13. Chapter 12: Effy's Story

I couldn't believe this; I _shouldn't _believe this. Even though I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that two of my best friends were werewolves. My own brother was a werewolf. When the people who held me captive called themselves vampires, I thought they were lunatics.

I was pissed. Why did everyone keep this a secret from me? My best friend in the world was supposedly half vampire, half human, and she didn't even tell me. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. I felt like everyone that I know has lied to me. I walked downstairs to see that everyone was mostly gone; everyone except for Uncle Same, Aunt Emily, Quil, Seth, Robbie, and Reighn.

"Please don't tell me that you and Robbie are werewolves," I groaned to Reighn.

"Nope, just Robbie!" Reighn replied a little too chipper for me. So basically my family is a bunch of dogs.. Awesome.

"Does that mean that I might turn into one?" I asked, annoyed.

"We don't really know," Uncle Sam, "but it seems really rare for females to phase. We highly doubt that you will."

"I better not," I grumbled. This is seriously a joke that has gone way too far. I need to get out of here and go to the one person that I know won't lie to me; Effy.

I ran out to my car with tears in my eyes. I could see Quil running after me to try and stop me. Screw Quil! He lied to me! Anger boiled up inside of me as I got in the car and sped off. The blizzard had gotten a lot worse, but I didn't care.

As I was driving, I started to notice a figure appearing in the road. Thinking it was just my imagination, I kept driving, but before I knew it, Quil was standing right in front of me. Scared, I slammed my brakes and swerved; bad idea. I started to spin as I lost control of the wheel. Please don't hit a tree! Please don't hit a tree! I let go of the wheel and relaxed myself to prepare myself for the impact, but there was no crashing impact that I had been waiting for.

I put my hands down and I jumped when Quil tapped on my window. I rolled it down and looked at him in complete shock.

"Did you just stop my car?" I asked; my eyes were wide.

"I'm a lot stronger than you think I am, Claire," Quil said sternly and my heart fluttered.

"Well if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have lost control!" I spat.

"It's too dangerous to drive; especially with the car you're driving," I only glared at him, ignoring the fact that he was shirtless, and drop dead gorgeous.

"Well how else am I supposed to fucking get there?"

"Let me take you," he said simply as if it didn't even bother him that I was pissed at him.

"You and what car?"

"I can carry you." My eyes were wide. What was this guy's problem?! He was so frustrating and stubborn that it drove me crazy. Suddenly, he did something that I was not expecting him to do. He reached in my car, unlocked the door, opened it, and then reached over me and unbuckled my seat belt. I couldn't help but shutter when his fingers brushed against my skin. Then he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. Oh hell no!

"Quil Ateara!" I shouted, "You put me down right now!"

"You said you wanted to go to Effy's, so this is how you're going to get there," he replied.

"I can get there perfectly fine _without_ you!" he set me down and I glared at him before I walked to my car. I tried to open the door, but it didn't open. I must have locked it on accident, weird. I reached into my pocket for my keys and discovered that they were not there. Quil!

I turned around with fire in my eyes, and saw him trying to hide his smile.

"Quil, give me my keys," I sneered. I marched over towards him and he held my keys above my head.

"You mean these?" he smirked, "You'll have to try and get them."

"I will not jump to get my keys!" I spat, "Give them back right now!"

"If you can get them, then you can drive there, but if not, I will take you."

"I'll walk," I turned and started walking down the road and cold gust of wind blew in my face and I tried to hold back my shiver, but I couldn't. I shuttered violently, and before I knew it, I was thrown over Quil's shoulder and he started heading towards Effy's house.

"Quil!" I yelled angrily and started hitting his bare back.

"I will not let you walk in this blizzard," I stopped pounding my fists and relaxed, but it was really uncomfortable.

"This is uncomfortable," I wined and I was suddenly being cradled like a baby against his very muscular chest. It was so warm despite the fact that it was a blizzard outside and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Oh god.. He's not wearing a shirt and I am pressed right against his muscular body. I took time to notice chiseled body and his defined abs. My heart rate increased and I could feel him tense up. Surely he couldn't hear that, could he?

Before I knew it, we were practically flying through the woods. I clung to him, praying that he wouldn't drop me. His cinnamon and pine smell comforted me, and I leaned my head against his bare chest awkwardly, but then relaxed when his warmth hit my cheek. He was just so warm and comfortable that I could stay there forever.

"We're here," Quil said and I noticed that neither of us moved. I cleared my throat before speaking.

"You could put me down now," I sounded a little annoyed than I actually wanted to sound, but I quickly got over it.

He set me down gently and I still couldn't get over the fact that the Cullen's house was so beautiful. It was hidden in the green forest and I couldn't help but notice at how open it was now that I know that they are supposedly vampires.

I noticed all of the luxury cars that they had, too; a Mercedes Benz SLR, a Mercedes Guardian, a silver Volvo, a canary yellow Lamborghini, a canary yellow Porsche, a badass, black, jeep wrangler, a cherry red Ferrari, a cherry red BMW M3, a dark purple BMW Z4, a dark green range rover, and two matching vipers, one iridescent, and one black.

"I forgot about how much money Eff's family had," I muttered to myself, and Quil grunted in disapproval.

I then noticed a pair of long, skinny legs in designer jeans sticking and a pair of adorable light pink wedges sticking out from under the Volvo. The girl then rolled herself out from under the car and I tried to hold back a gasp. She glared at Quil for a moment before smiling at me. She had gorgeous, long, wavy blonde hair, and she was a good five foot nine with a perfect, model frame. Her heart shaped face had strong features, and her lips were full, and pink, and beautiful. She had caramel colored eyes that were covered with perfect, thick lashes, and she continued to gaze at me. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, and I was frozen in her beauty.

"You must be Claire!" she exclaimed and continued to smile at me when she shook my hand. I jumped at her icy touch, "I'm Effy's mom, Rosalie, but you can call me Rose."

"Effy's mother is dead," I eyed her suspiciously and Rosalie's smile faltered, but only a little bit.

"Well yes," she nodded, "her biological mother is dead, but I'm her adopted mother." What else has Effy lied to me about?

"And I'm Emmett!" A booming voice said and I caught sight of a gorgeous bear of a man who was jogging over to me. He picked me up, hugged me, and spun me around in a circle.

"I'm Effy's dad!" he exclaimed, and I noticed that he also had caramel eyes, "also adopted."

I glared at both of them, "Why would Effy lie to me?"

Their smiles were both completely gone now and they both just led me out of the cold and into their house. There were a lot more people here than I expected there to be. It seemed as though they were all couples. Carlisle and Esme, who I had met after the accident, a guy with crazy blonde hair who had his arms wrapped around a girl who looked like a pixie, a guy with wind-blown, bronze hair who was holding hands with a girl that had straight, long, brown hair with red hints in it, and two girls who seemed to be arguing with each other.

Although these two girls were completely identical, they looked like complete opposites. They seemed so familiar. The girls looked around fourteen or fifteen years old. They both had long, wavy, black hair and huge eyes with soft lips. They looked around four feet ten inches and they had snow white skin. One girl had on a white sweater and a light pink tank top underneath. She also had on light wash skinny jeans with light pink, strappy heals. Her hair was worn down and she had a thick, white headband pulling back her bangs. She had white, shimmery eye shadow on and light pink lip stick. Light pink blush was also added to her cheeks. She looked like an angel.

The other girl, on the other hand, was dressed completely differently. She was wearing a charcoal grey, sweater dress with black leggings, and charcoal grey boots. She had a thick, charcoal scarf wrapped around her neck, and her hair was also worn down, except she had a charcoal knit hat on her head. Her eye shadow was a grey, smoky-eye and she had eyeliner on that gave her the cat-eye look. She was also wearing dark red lipstick. She looked extremely annoyed. Why did these girls seem so familiar? It then struck me; the girl in my dream during the accident! My eyes widened in recognition as I looked at the twin that was wearing lighter colors.

"I guess I should introduce you to everyone," Carlisle spoke and clapped his hands together. In the same order that I looked at everyone, Carlisle introduced them.

"Claire, this is Jasper Hale, and his wife Alice Cullen. This is Edward Cullen, and his wife Bella Swan. And these two girls are Bliss and Crucible Hale. If you can't tell, they are sisters. We call Crucible Cici. Effy is at Rosalie and Emmett's house, but she'll be here shortly, and the only other people missing are Jacob and Renesmee, but you've met them, I'm sure."

"Why would Jake and Ness be here?"

"Because Renesmee is my daughter," Edward replied. My head was spinning; what the fuck is going on? Are these people seriously vampires? Does that mean Renesmee is a vampire, too?

"Well yes, we are vampires," Edward said as if he was reading my mind, "but Renesmee is not. She is half vampire, half human; Bella gave birth to her while Bella was still human."

"What about Effy?"

"I'll explain that, Uncle Eddy," Effy spoke, and unlike all the times before, a smile didn't appear on my face every time I heard her voice.

"What is going on?!" I demanded angrily, "Why did you lie to me?"

"Just listen, I'll explain everything. My mother had such a life ahead of her; she was a Broadway star at seventeen, and it all changed when she went on a trip to Italy. She found the perfect guy there. He was tall, muscular, smart, and handsome. He had chalky, olive skin, and black hair. He was strong, and utterly beautiful. His name was Felix. They fell in love, or at least my mother fell in love with him. They made love, and my mother soon found out that she was pregnant with me, too soon. Knowing that her career was over, she fled to her hometown in Seattle. She ran into Edward there, and he immediately knew what was happening to her; I was killing her. He took her to Carlisle to help her, but she was so small; probably smaller than me. She didn't stand a chance. I practically ripped her apart from the inside out, and she died before they could even inject the venom into her. That's when Rosalie and Emmett gladly took me in as their own. Mom had always wanted a daughter," Effy smiled and looked at Rosalie who just smiled back at her.

"Why were you in Nashville by yourself?"

"I'm hiding," Effy looked down, "from my biological father. For a while, they thought I was dead until they discovered me in Nashville. That's when I fled back home. You see, they have a tracker, but he can't track me because of Bella's power. She is a type of shield, the kind where she can't be tracked. She can also expand her shield to me so I cannot be tracked either. The Volturi's best tracker cannot find me. I'm invisible."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Some vampires have special powers," Carlisle replied, "Edward can read minds, except Bella's because she is a shield. A shield is where other vampire's powers do not affect you.'

"Alice has visions of the future. She can see everyone's future except werewolves, and hybrids are fuzzy to her. Her visions aren't always right though, for the future is always changing. Emmett has super strength; stronger than a normal vampire's strength. Rosalie has immense beauty that can cause people to completely agree with everything she says. Jasper can control your emotions; he can cause you to become super angry, or make you completely relaxed. Effy can heal people through touch, but she cannot bring the dead back to life. Effy saved your life in Italy. Bliss and Crucible have quite interesting gifts. Bliss can reach you in your dreams and heal your mind when you're on the inch of death; she can also figure out where you are through your dreams and communicate with you. Crucible can give you horrible nightmares and she can kill you through your dreams. She can make your mind completely rot. She cannot completely kill vampires, but she can make them brain dead. She can kill a human with one thought."

A shiver went through my body and I glanced at Crucible whose eyes seemed to darken when she looked at me.

"Renesmee can let people read her mind through one touch," Carlisle continued and my head was spinning. I backed up closer to Quil.

"Carlisle I think this is too much for her, why don't we just leave it at that?" Edward spoke up and I looked at him with gratitude, but then I realized that they were _vampires_. Blood sucking, people killing, vampires. I gulped and looked at all the golden-eyed, pale faces in the room, and I was suddenly terrified. Holy shit they might eat me.

"We aren't going to eat you," Edward laughed and I heard a snarl behind me.

"You wouldn't even be able to take a step towards her," Quil growled, "I would rip you all apart before that happened."

"Calm down, dog, we aren't going to eat her," Rosalie rolled her eyes; "it's against our diet, and the treaty."

"Again, what are you talking about?" I asked. Am I seriously this out of the loop with things? Why didn't anyone tell me? It's not fair, but now that I think about it I would have rather not have known.

"Our diet is animals," Jasper spoke in a southern drawl, "and the treaty is that we can stay here and not worry about werewolves attacking us as long as we don't feed on humans or change them unless under life or death circumstances." Everyone looked at Bella, who I'm sure would have blushed if she were still human.

"Exactly," Quil sneered, "so you guys better keep your teeth away from Claire, or else."

Seriously, what was it with him and his whole protectiveness again? It was so annoying at times!

"She doesn't know does she?" Edward laughed, and the air was suddenly filled with a lot of tension.

"Know what?" I asked and looked at everyone, confused.

"Why haven't you told her, Quil?" I turned and glared at Quil.

"There's still stuff you haven't told me?!" I practically screeched, "I am so damn tired of all these secrets! Why doesn't anyone tell me anything? Even my little cousin knows more than me! It's so unfair!"

I was now pacing the room angrily. Words could not describe how mad I was. I wanted to throw a tantrum. Everything I thought I knew about life was a lie, and now when I finally try to figure out the truth, I still get lied to! I had to find out by sneaking around!

"Tell me the truth Quil!" I turned at him with fire in my eyes. His face was filled with shock and confusion.

"I can't," he said and sadness filled his eyes.

"Well why the fuck not!?" I screeched and marched up to him. If I weren't almost two feet shorter than him, I would have been inches from his face, but I made sure that I made myself look intimidating. Quil backed up to the wall and held up his hands defensively.

"I just can't, Claire."

I heard all the vampires behind me start chuckling. I turned around and glared at them.

"You think this is funny?" I spat and looked at the ones who were laughing the most: Emmett and Jasper.

"Well, you're really feisty for a human," Emmett joked, "It's entertaining."

"Sorry ma'am," Jasper apologized, but I could tell he didn't really mean it. "It is quite entertaining because we know what it is."

"Then why don't you tell me?!" They were both silent and looked at Quil who was trying to look anywhere, but me.

"Quil Ateara," I sneered, "I am giving you one last chance. You better tell me what it is that you aren't telling me, or else."

"Claire," his eyes filled with tears, "I really can't."

"You are such a fucking liar!" I yelled and punched his stomach, and even though it hurt like hell, I continued to punch him, "You're a lying bastard! All I wanted was the truth!"

My hands were now bloody and Quil grabbed my wrists to stop me.

"I want you out of my life!" I spat, "Forever!"

"Jasper please," his voice cracked and I felt a wave of overwhelming calmness.

"I hate you," I whispered, "just go."

"Claire," Quil was now crying, but I didn't budge. He betrayed me. Everyone betrayed me.

"Just go!" I snapped. Quil let go of my wrists and walked out the door. I noticed him phase into a giant wolf and run into the forest. I then heard an agonizing howl of pain. I turned and looked at the coven of vampires who all had a grim facial expression.

"Claire, do you want to talk about this?" Effy asked and I looked into her dark orange, almost black eyes. I was jealous of her beauty and her kindness even after I called her a liar. I instantly felt bad, but I wasn't going to let that get to me. He deserves to feel pain, no matter how much I cared about him.

"Just let me think," I said, still staring at the woods where Quil was last seen.

* * *

**Yeah, I know, Quil and Claire still aren't united, but trust me, I'm going somewhere with this! The next chapter will revolve around the vampires becayse I want you guys to get a good view into some of their stories. What do you guys think about Crucible and Bliss? If you have any questions, feel free to ask and give me your thoughts about what you think so far! Please review it would mean a lot to me and it gives me motivation! Thanks! I'll post the next chapter soon since finals are all over now! **

**-S.**


	14. Chapter 13: The Truth Comes Out

**Okay so I'm disappointed in this chapter because I got MAJOR writers block. I need help.. I need reviews and badly. You guys are my motivation and I need reviews to continue writing! This chapter sucked, I know, but I promise the next one will be better. I'm already in the process of writing, but please review so I can have my motivation back because I know what I want to write, but it's just getting there. Please, please, please, review! It would mean the world to me! Thanks!**

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"Claire, are you okay?" Effy asked me, and I just shrugged. No, I wasn't okay. I immediately felt horrible for being so mean to Quil, but I was so confused on my feelings about everything. I barely knew Quil and he just had to come around and be so perfect and has to mess everything up! He was becoming my best friend and yet I still feel like I barely knew him. Maybe we weren't best friends. He did lie to me after all, and I'm so much younger than him. Best friends don't lie to each other, so maybe he didn't consider me a best friend, but Effy lied to me and she is my best friend, but I'm still here with her. I've practically forgiven her, but why am I still mad at Quil? I sighed in frustration.

"Because he still hasn't told you everything and you know he hasn't," Edward answered my thoughts. I spun around and glared at him.

"Then why don't you tell me?" I insisted, "You are the mind reader after all."

"It's not my secret to tell," he shrugged.

"He makes me so furious!" I growled, "Even before I knew that there were secrets, he made me so angry!"

"Maybe it's because you're in denial of the fact that you actually have feelings for him." I looked at him with hatred in my eyes. How dare he say what I'm feeling? But a little part of me knew that he was right. Quil was all I thought about. According to Aunt Emily, Quil has started to loosen up after all these years. Quil apparently used to be the craziest out of all of them, but now, he's the most uptight. I'm the complete opposite of Quil. I'm carefree, and I'm up for anything crazy and fun.

"Opposites attract," Edward murmured, and I just glared at him.

"I am not attracted to Quil!" I huffed and crossed my arms.

"You're in a room with someone who can read minds; I know when you're lying.

"Okay yes," I admitted, "I find Quil rather attractive, but I don't want to be in a relationship with him."

"Again," he tapped his temple, "mind reading. I know when you're lying."

"Ugh! You are so obnoxious!" I stamped my foot, "How do people deal with you?"

"You are exactly like your family," Rosalie laughed, "Everyone in your little tribe hates the fact that Edward can read minds, but we don't mind. Sometimes we can make him see things that he doesn't want to see. If you know what I mean." Rose winked at me and I squirmed in discomfort. I noticed that Edward also seemed to squirm.

"Would you like to get to know the twins?" Effy came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I nodded and she led me outside, and we started walking through the snowy forest that surrounded the Cullen house.

"Does everyone have a separate house around here?" I asked and Eff nodded.

"We all have different houses because we aren't actually children Claire," Effy laughed, "Well, at least some of us aren't."

"And how old are you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her. She looked down, and I noticed blush appearing on her cheeks.

"You aren't going to believe me when I tell you," she murmured. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"What? Are you like ten thousand years old?" I joked around, and she frowned.

"I wish."

"Eff, how old are you?" I asked.

"Five, Claire, I'm five," she stopped and looked at me. Embarrassment was all over her face.

"Wait what?"

"I was three years old when I met you, Claire. Hybrids grow ridiculously fast, but they quit growing around the age of seven," Effy explained, "Am I freaking you out yet?"

"Just a little," I laughed and started to walk again, "but I think I could get the hang of it."

"Okay good," Eff smiled and looked up, "And here we are." I looked up and gasped. It was a three story Roman styled mansion with twin staircases that lead to the front door. There were statues of the same woman and all of the hedges were neatly trimmed. Effy led me out of the snowy yard and into their house. It was as if it was split in half. One side had fall colors of red and orange, and the other side was wintery colors of blue, purple, and grey.

Crucible and Bliss then came down the stairs in sweats and hoodies.

"Hey," I smiled nervously. I'm still shocked by the twins' beauty. Although I see them as really young, I could tell by their presence that they were much older than my mind thought they were.

"So you want to know more about us, huh?" Crucible said to me and leaned against the railing. "Well leave this to this fuck-up to be the reason that we're immortal." She pointed her thumb towards Bliss, and she only looked down.

"So here's our story little human," She smiled and I could see the anger in her eyes.

"We were there in 79 A.D. when Mount Vesuvius erupted, you know. We were the princesses of Pompeii. They said we were the daughters of Venus because of our amass beauty. Whether or not that is true, we do not know. Twins were very rare during our time, especially identical twins, and for us to live. They suspected that we were in the hands of the gods and goddesses. We were praised, and we wore only the best apparel. We were fifteen years old, but we are two of the strongest and oldest vampires that exist. Back then, our people praised sexuality, and it helped that the gods blessed us with amazing bodies. We were always surrounded by hot men that were in their twenties, maybe older, which is frowned upon now. I don't understand why, but it sure was a fun time." Crucible gave an almost cruel smile and bliss just looked down as if she were ashamed by herself.

"Anyway, something happened that our parents loved us for. We fell in love with two brothers. As you can tell, Bliss and I are polar opposites. So were the brothers. I fell in love with the good, and Bliss fell in love with the bad one. Wouldn't have expected that would you? I guess opposites attract. Who would have known that the brothers were the creatures who would raid our city and slaughter people and animals once every couple of weeks? Aahron and Abbadon were the men we were destined to marry, but as I said before, it was Bliss's foolishness that caused us to be like this. On the night of our weddings, they revealed to us who they were. I told Aahron that I would never be like him, and he accepted me saying that he would love me for the rest of my days. But poor pathetic Bliss who was so in love couldn't stand the thought of them being separated, so she accepted the bite. Abbadon was infuriated with his brother's weakness and tried to force his brother to change me, too, so we could rule for eternity. Aahron said no and protected me with his life, but he wasn't good enough, Abbadon turned against his brother and forced me to watch as he ripped his "good" brother to pieces and burned him. Abbadon was the one with red eyes, meaning he fed from humans, but not Aahron. He had golden eyes and he was so good. His name means light bringer, and he brought light everywhere around him. Abbadon and Bliss started to rule, and I was left heartbroken. The volcano erupted only a week later, and I would have died if it weren't for Bliss. She begged Abbadon to save me, and I begged them not to. My lungs were filled with ash and I thought I was a goner, but I wasn't. I swore for revenge for all the things they had done to me. I went to Bliss, and she protected Abbadon with her life, but of course I couldn't kill my own sister. He fled and I spent four hundred years trying to find him, but I couldn't no thanks to my ever so kind and loving sister. I eventually gave up and became pure evil; not caring about human life at all. Bliss, followed me around and covered up my back, but then the Voltori came around and tried to control us, when we're older than them! We eventually became part of the Volturi guard. A few months ago we left because of all of the bullshit that is going on around there. And that is when we found the Cullens."

I was taken aback by their story. This was so strange to me, but I felt bad for Crucible. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to lose the one who you were in love with. My mind immediately flashed to Quil, but it was buried away quickly.

"So now you know our story," she said, "can you leave now?"

"You don't have to be so mean Cruce," Effy nagged.

"What? She knows our story, so she can get out of my house," Crucible looked at Bliss, "right Bliss?" Bliss just looked down and shrugged, clearly upset about the fact that she was completely embarrassed about what Crucible had said about her.

"It's fine," I said, "let's go Eff."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to come home tonight. Everyone hasn't eaten in a while, so they're a little.. hungry. Are you okay with going home tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine," I lied, "If I ask my aunt and uncle not to let someone be around me then I'm sure that they won't let them be around me."

"I'm sorry," Effy apologized and I just shrugged. She led me outside and looked at me with a smirk.

"What?" I asked.

"Hop on my back," she smiled and I shook my head.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just trust me; I want to show you something." I jumped on her back and we sprinted through the woods like Quil and I did before. Then, she did something that surprised me. She started jumping on the trees, and soon enough, we landed on the roof of my aunt and uncles house.

"Whoa," I breathed looking around and smiling.

"I have always wanted to show you that!" she squealed.

"So you weren't pretending to be my friend," I said and she looked at me, shocked.

"No! Of course not!" she seem offended, "Claire, you are, and have always been my best friend. Don't ever forget that, and Quil will tell you what it is he has to tell you. He just needs time. Just try and focus on having fun. School starts up again tomorrow, so maybe you could distract yourself from everything."

"I know, that's what I need to do," I said and hopped into my window, "Bye Eff."

* * *

When I returned back to school I noticed that I had a study hall period instead of my martial arts class with Quil. I also noticed that during our dinner with the pack, Quil wasn't there. April soon came around and I realized that Quil wasn't coming back, and I was absolutely miserable.

"Aunt Emily," I said one day during dinner. I had gotten used to not speaking at all during dinner. "What happened to Quil?"

"You told him to leave, and that's what he did Claire," Uncle Sam said and looked at me sternly.

"Well, I didn't actually mean that," I defended and they all just raised their eyebrows at me, "I was just mad!"

"Yeah, well in case you haven't noticed, he does anything you tell him to do," Embry laughed and I glared at him.

"Actually he just bosses me around," I grumbled and crossed my arms together.

"Claire, why don't you just ask him to come back?"

"Because I don't chase the boys, boys chase me," I winked and Kim just glared at me.

"Well sometimes people actually have to work for things instead of getting everything handed to them," Jared's wife, Kim snapped and walked out of the room.

"Geez what's her problem?" I asked and everyone just glared at me.

"You just don't get it Claire," Jared also snapped, "You're a bitch to everyone around you and act like your life is so hard when it's not! You don't put other people in your consideration and you don't consider the fact that you are so out of control and that some people actually have to watch after you because you don't watch after yourself."

"I watch after myself perfectly fine!" I defended. God why was everyone pushing my buttons lately? It's like they all defend Quil and not me.

"Really then how did you get those stitches on your forehead?" Jared asked, he was now shaking.

"I slipped," I lied.

"Yeah try lying around here when we were the ones that carried you home when you were on who knows what drugs," Jared argued and I slammed my hands down and stood up angrily.

"You don't know anything about me and what I do!" I yelled, "In fact, none of you do! Not even Quil!"

I ran up to my room and put on sweatpants and a hoody. I then snuck out of the window even though I know that I can't sneak out of a house full of werewolves, but they can't stop me. I started running towards the beach. It was only six so it's not dangerous yet. It started raining and I stopped in annoyance and looked at the waves.

"Why does this have to happen to me?" I screamed at nothing and threw seashells into the ocean. Then an idea popped into my head.

"I'm going to go find him," I said to myself, "Maybe some boys are worth chasing.

I ran to his house as fast as I could, and ran through the forest. I tripped over a tree stump and fell to my hands and knees which were then covered in blood. I fought through it and kept running, not even noticing that I left blood all over the ground.

I reached the clearing where Quil and Embry's house was located. I ran up to the front porch and started pounding on the door, leaving blood on it.

"Quil!" I yelled, "Quil Ateara let me in right now!" I continued knocking and the door opened. My breath was taken away when I saw Quil. He wasn't wearing a shirt and he was wearing basketball shorts that barely showed his boxers. His hair was disheveled and his face was covered in shock.

"Claire, why are you here?" He asked, "Come inside."

"Why didn't you ever come back?" I asked and gripped my hand on the counter and winced. I just noticed the giant slice in my hand.

"You're hurt," he pointed out and grabbed my hand and bringing it under the faucet so he could wash it out. He then wrapped it in gauze so the bleeding would stop.

"Thank you," I said, "But you're still in trouble."

"What do you want Claire?" he asked, annoyed.

"Why didn't you come back?" I asked.

"I'm just doing what you asked."

"Well that's not what I wanted!" I stamped my foot and he raised his eyebrows. "You're supposed to chase after me and apologize!"

"Claire, we aren't together," he spoke and it stopped me dead in my tracks.

"I never said that," I choked.

"You're acting like we are and we weren't in the first place," he shrugged and walked away from me to sit on the couch.

"Quil Ateara! Don't you walk away from me!" I yelled and he stopped.

"What do you want Claire?" he asked and threw his hands up in the air, "I do everything you want me to do and it's still not good enough!"

"I want you!" I blurted and covered my mouth in surprise.

"What?" he was taken aback and hope filled his eyes.

"I want you! Okay?" I cried, "I have a stupid high school crush on someone who is way older than me and it won't go away, so I thought it would be better for me if we could be best friends and then you have these secrets and I just fell harder."

"Claire-"

"No, let me finish," I said and walked up to him where we were nose to nose, "I told you everything about my parents, about me, and you lie to me. I just want to know the truth. I don't care if we can't be together; I just want you to tell me the truth!" I shouted and Quil's big hand covered my mouth. I struggled in his grasp and he let go.

"Claire," he whispered, "do you know what an imprint is?"


	15. Chapter 14: Just Friends

**Hello! I know I've updated twice in two days, shocking, right? But, I've had the stomach flu and have been in my bed for two days straight, so lots of typing was done. I'm thinking about writing a story about Jared and Kim so tell me what you think about that because I'm really excited about it. But I'm not going to start that story until I am finished with this one, so don't worry! I haven't given up on this one! Please review! You guys are my motivation! Thanks!**

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"A what?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. For a second I thought that we were about to kiss, but then he threw a curveball. Always count on Quil to expect the unexpected. I backed up to put distance between us for him to only step forward. His heat and scent radiated off of his body making it almost unbearable to stay away from him.

"An imprint, Claire," he said in a dark, husky voice that made my heart flutter.

"N-no, why do you ask?" I asked him, walking around the island in his kitchen and heading towards his living room. All I could think about was avoid Quil before I do something I regret. He grabbed my hand and spun me around to face him.

"An imprint is a type of mark. At least that is what it says in the Webster's dictionary," Quil let out a small chuckle before he continued, "But for us Quileutes, imprinting is what helps us find our soul mates. We lay eyes on the person, and boom, that's it."

"What do you mean?" I gulped, "Like love at first sight?" He raised his hand up to stop me.

"Well, Claire, it's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like... gravity moves... suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does... You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend," he explained, and I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion.

"Us wolves imprint," Quil said and waited for me to speak.

"So," I started, trying to keep track of what he was saying, "Who in the pack has imprinted?" He paused as if he wanted to back out of what he was going to say.

"Sam and Emily were the first to imprint," he said, "then it was Paul and his wife, Rachel, Jacob and Renesmee, Seth and Reighn, Frankie and Effy, and… you and me."

"Huh?" I blurted in shock. They were all in relationships except for Robbie and Effy. Wait, no. He said me and him. No, that isn't possible.

"Claire Bennett," Quil spoke, "I imprinted on you when you were two years old. For me, it wasn't love at first sight. It felt as though I was your big brother, and I had to protect you no matter what. Your parents took you away to Nashville for your father's promotion. I felt like a piece of me was taken away. Whenever I first met you, I still thought that you were like a little sister to me, but now I've realized it is much different. You're like another piece of me, Claire. You're like my other half."

"I can't!" I blurted and his face filled with torture, "I can't be in a relationship, Quil."

"That's not what I meant," he chuckled, "I meant you're all I think about and you're my best friend. And if you want to say you don't want to be in a relationship with me now or ever, then that is only if that's what you want."

I didn't know what to think. Did that mean that Quil was really chasing me all this time?

"You're the mystery man from my party," I said in realization.

"Yes," He chuckled, "I had to watch over you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I will always protect you," he whispered, "that's something you can't make me stop doing."

"I'm not perfect," I suggested.

"You're perfect to me," he replied.

"I'm a bitch," I argued.

"I think it's entertaining," he mused.

"Ugh! Why do you say these things to me?" I argued.

"What do you want me to say to you?" Quil asked, clearly starting to get frustrated.

"That!" I pointed at him and started pacing around the room, "That is what I want!"

"I'm confused."

"I want you to not put me on a pedestal and make me feel like I'm always right. I want you to have your own opinion and tell me when I'm wrong when I am. If this friendship is going to work we cannot be like Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily or Kim and Jared or any of the other gushy couples! That makes me want to gag! You have to be yourself, and I want to be me. None of this following me around like a puppy!" I knew how the other couples reacted and it absolutely made me sick. I'm not like that. I like to have fun and I like to be carefree.

"Claire, that's them, not you and me," Quil cupped my face and I tried to look away. "Best friends. That's all we are, and all we ever have to be."

"Best friends," I smiled, "That sounds perfect."

"So yeah, that was the secret," Quil said awkwardly.

"Scary, but I think I can handle it," I smiled, "on one condition."

"What is it?" he smiled and I looked at him.

"No bossing me around telling me what I can and can't do," his face fell.

"Deal," he said, but he was holding back his emotions.

* * *

"Quil! I don't know if I can do this!" I yelled to him. We were on the edge of a cliff and everyone had jumped in the water except for me and Quil.

"Quit being a wimp! It's not hard!" He shouted and I curled my fists together and jumped up and down.

"I'm so nervous!" I squealed and looked down at the water.

"About what?" he laughed at me and I looked down at my Victoria's Secret, white, bombshell bikini with black and hot pink flowers on it. It made my boobs look perky and amazing and the bottoms were super skimpy and barely covered up anything. It made Quil angry and left him wanting which is exactly what I was aiming for. The entire reason I wanted to stay friends with Quil is because I want to make him crack.

"My bikini!" I laughed, "What if the top comes off?"

"Claire," Quil warned and looked at me darkly. I just smirked before I screamed and jumped off of the cliff. The water surrounded me and I closed my eyes and made sure that salt water didn't get into them. I came above the water and the boys cheered.

"You have my respect, Claire; I didn't know that you were part of the boys," Embry laughed and I splashed him with water.

"I just like to have fun, Call," I smiled and soon we were all splashed by Quil's entrance. I was then pulled underwater and I screamed. I felt Quil's hands on my stomach and I tried not to gasp at the wonderful feeling. He pulled me above water and I also splashed him. We swam to the shore and I ran to my towel to relax on it and catch some sun. Spring Break has caused me to become super tan. Weirdly, it has been really sunny lately. Just in time for spring break.

"So boys," I smirked at the fact that I was the only girl, "there's a party tonight if ya'll wanna come."

"Ya'll?" Seth laughed, "Little southerner you still have an accent!"

"Shut up!" I smacked his chest, "I'm working on that! So are you coming or not?"

"Well we have patrol, but I'm sure Quil would love to go," Seth wiggled his eyebrows at Quil and he just shook his head.

"So Quil Ateara, you are going to be my escort," I smirked.

"It's a party on the beach and you don't need an escort to go to the beach," Embry snorted.

"I just want to go with the hottest guy. Or are you jealous that I'm not asking you?" I teased and Embry just blushed.

"I would love to escort you," Quil smiled and I leaned my head back and let my body soak up the sun. Tonight was going to be perfect and I was sure of it.

The day went by quickly and I was soon standing in my room with Jana and she was helping me pick out which outfit what to wear. I picked out a hot pink sequenced bikini with a silver, see-through, off the shoulder tunic. My hair was fixed into beach waves and the only makeup I had on was black eyeliner on my top lid and hot pink lip stain.

"You look amazing!" Jana squealed, "Who's the boy you're trying to impress."

"I don't need to impress any boy," I winked, "As I remind you, I don't chase the boys, the boys chase me."

We walked downstairs, and Quil's jaw dropped. He rushed up to me and whispered in my ear.

"Claire, what are you wearing?" he whispered furiously.

"What Quil?" I said loudly, "Nervous that some boy may wisp me away at the party?"

"No," he continued to whisper, "this attire is completely inappropriate."

"Well it just sounds to me that you're jealous, and I'm not changing," I smirked, "come on Quil, you promised to be my escort."

"Fine," his voice lowered to where he was even quieter, "I don't want anyone to look at you the way I'm looking at you now." My stomach filled with butterflies, and I felt myself getting hot. No, Claire, you mustn't let him get to you.

"Then I guess you'll just have to suffer," I smirked. His face darkened and I held his arm and we started walking towards the beach with Jana. As soon as she saw the bonfire she squealed and ran towards the crowd.

"Nervous?" I asked and looked at Quil who clearly noticed all the guys checking me out.

"Let's just say these guys are lucky that I don't read minds like Edward Cullen," he murmured.

"And why is that?" I tried to hide my smirk, but he didn't say anything. He just put his hands on the small of my back and led me towards the bonfire.

"Claire!" the wonderful Dean shouted and ran up to him. I made it clear that I was checking out his body and I heard Quil growl.

"Hey Dean!" I smiled and gave him a hug, pressing our bodies tightly together. I don't know what was up with me, but I just felt like messing with Quil. Quil pulled me away quickly and I just glared at him.

"Quil," I gave him a fake smile, "remember what I said about being just friends? You can't be jealous around me."

"Then quit tempting me," he said darkly and it took almost all of me to not grab him and kiss him.

"I'm going to go get some drinks, would you like something, Quil?" I asked, changing subjects.

"No, thank you," he looked away angrily and I felt badly for what I had said to him.

"What's up with tall, dark, and handsome?" One of the sophomores came up to me and asked.

"Nothing, he's just my best friend," I replied without thinking.

"Well that means he's up for snags," she grabbed a Miller Lite and walked towards Quil, swaying her hips.

"Bitch…" I muttered and crushed my red cup. I was just about to walk right up to her and smack her when someone grabbed me and threw me in the ocean.

"You stupid son of bitches!" I yelled at them, but suddenly I was drowning. Someone had pulled me down, but I tried to kick away, but I couldn't. I opened my eyes, trying to ignore the burn of the salt water. I let out a mental scream. Who was doing this to me?

I was dragged further and further underwater and my lungs screamed at me. I need air. That's all I needed was air. That's all I wanted. Dark circles started to surround my vision and I struggled even harder. Not again.. If it would be possible to cry underwater, then I would have cried. Before I knew it, the darkness consumed me.

* * *

"Claire, wake up," Effy's voice awoke me. I opened my eyes and they were crusted over. I saw black and blue and I was relieved to see my best friend sitting on a bed in front of me.

"Eff," I gurgled, "Where are we? What happened?"

"Hiding. We're in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We're in a beach house. You were attacked at the party. Lucky for me, I had my mother with me, so we stopped him."

"Him? Who attacked me?"

"Just someone from the Voluri guard; no big deal," she brushed it off of her shoulder like it was no big deal.

"What?!" I yelled, "Someone from the Volturi guard? That is a big deal!"

"Don't worry!" She assured, "Quil has been the one taking care of you. He's also the one that you are going to hide away with."

"I'm going into hiding?!" I screeched, "With QUIL!"

"Yeah," she smiled, "but I'm not going to be with you. I'm good at running away. The only reason I'm here now is because I had to heal you."

"Heal me from what?"

"Well.." she looked as though she was contemplating on whether or not she was going to tell me, "You were almost dead when we saved you."

"Almost dead.. huh," I stared off into space. Maybe I should have died in Nashville.

"Well, I have to go, I'm sorry Claire, but I'm also supposed to be in hiding. They'll find us easily if we're together," Effy apologized and in a flash, she was gone. I looked around the room that had grey walls with seashells aligned on the wall. I was on a king sized bed with a feather blanket and feather pillows. Across the bed was a mirror closet and I saw myself. I was still in what I wore to the beach only dirtier. My hair was in mats and I had a busted lip and a slice across my eyebrow. I looked pathetic. I immediately got up and ran to the master bathroom to take a shower.

I saw all the dirt and grime being washed down the shower drain and I felt numb. It's like as soon as I became happy again; as soon as I found out everything, this happens. I walked out of the shower and put on a big, puffy, white bathrobe. I walked back into my room and noticed that all of my stuff and some were on the floor. I shrugged on some Juicy sweats and pulled my hair in a ponytail. Who did I need to impress anyway? I was here all alone.

I walked around the open beach house and noticed my favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffanie's, on the glass coffee table. I put it in and relaxed on the couch.

"Claire," a voice spoke that made me jumped out of my thoughts. I looked behind me to see Quil, messy haired and with an unbuttoned white shirt. He looked gorgeous as usual, and the sight of him took my breath away. He rushed to me and knelt down next to me.

"Are you okay?" he genuinely asked and I looked away from him, embarrassed.

"I look horrible," I spoke, "if I would have known you were here, I might have actually tried to look nice."

"You don't need to try to impress me," he said and kissed the back of my hand.

"Stop that," I said and pulled my hand away. His eyes were filled with pain and I felt bad for being so rude.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I'm not in a good mood."

"Neither am I," he agreed, "Everything has escalated so quickly since you have come here."

"I know.." I looked down at my hands and tried to hold back tears.

"The Volturi are going to start a war," Quil spoke softly, "they've also figured out how to break the bond of imprints."

"What's the big deal?" I asked, "I think imprints just point out what is already there."

"The imprint is not the point," his face darkened, "It's how they do it. I can't tell you any more than that because I honestly don't know. All I know is that they're planning on making vampires rule over humans and they plan on taking out the Cullens."

"And you don't want me getting hurt," I answered.

"No I don't," he replied, "but you shouldn't be worried about getting hurt. You should be worried about being changed into one of them."

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"Alec, one of the more dangerous ones of the Volturi guard," Quil started, "he seems to have fallen for you after he set you free." I didn't say anything to him because I honestly didn't know what to say. I just stood up and walked towards the window overlooking the blue ocean.

"I just want to go back to the way things were a year ago," I trembled. Quil came up behind me and I looked at him with tears in my eyes. "I want to be a normal teenage girl who has fun and falls in love and gets her heart broken. I don't want to be scared all the time and I don't want this to happen to me. I don't know what I feel about anything. I do know that I don't want to hide anymore. You and Effy were the only ones that came here, but you were the only one who stayed."

"What are you saying Claire?"

"There is one thing that I know that I want for sure," I said.

"And what is that?" Quil asked, walking closer to me.

"You."

* * *

**And that is the end of this chapter! So if you want to know how I pictured some of the characters that I added just continue reading and I will let you know.**

**Effy- I imagined as Katherine Prescott but with bright red hair and when I mean red I mean red. Not orange.**

**Claire- Leighton Meester like when she was in gossip girl but different colored eyes.**

**Robbie- Jared Padalecki.. yum**

**Reighn- Genevieve Cortese but obviously imagine her a little younger**

**Austin- Chace Crawford**

**Dean- Jensen Ackles.. yeah I know not very original in the name but he's sooooo hot.**

**Frankie- I honestly don't imagine him as anything but oh well. **

**Crucible and Bliss- since they're identical twins person it's obviously going to be the same actress so I thought of Aria Montgomery**

**Jana- Tamara Feldman**

**So yeah that's all of them that I actually thought of so please review and tell me what you think about everything.. I'm SOOOO excited about my next chapter, but as I said before reviews are my motivation, and without them, I wouldn't be able to write, so please review, it would mean the world to me! Thanks!**


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